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Illinois Gives You 45 Days a Year to Switch Medigap Plans. It Starts on Your Birthday.

Writer: Gen Kruse
Gen Kruse
Sep 4
2 min read

Updated: Sep 5

Most Medicare rules run on the federal calendar. This one runs on yours. If you live in Illinois and already hold a Medicare Supplement policy, a window opens on your birthday every year, and it does not ask you a single health question.





What the Illinois birthday rule does

Illinois law gives Medicare Supplement policyholders an annual open enrollment period of their own. If you are at least 65 and no more than 75 and already hold a Medigap policy, the window starts on your birthday and runs 45 days. Inside it, the insurer cannot deny you, cannot place conditions on your coverage, and cannot price it based on your health status, your claims history, or a medical condition. It comes back every year you are in that age range.


What waiting can cost

The window closes 45 days after your birthday and does not reopen until next year. Outside it, a switch means medical underwriting, and an insurer can decline you. If your health changes between one birthday and the next, the plan you could have moved to may no longer be available to you.


What it does not do

Three limits, and they are where people get surprised.

  • It does not let you change companies. You can move to another policy from the same insurer, or from an affiliate licensed to do business in Illinois. Shopping the whole market still means underwriting.

  • It does not let you upgrade. The new plan's benefits have to be equal to or less than what you have now. Plan F to Plan G qualifies. Plan A to Plan G does not.

  • It does not apply if you are under 65 or over 75, or if you do not already hold a Medigap policy.


Other states handle this differently, and many do not offer it at all. Where you live changes the answer.


Takeaway

A Medigap policy is not a decision you make once. In Illinois you get to look at it every year, on a date you are not going to forget, with no health questionnaire in the way. The only way to lose that is not to use it.


Tell us your birthday and the plan letter you hold now, and we will tell you what your window allows.




Sources

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only. Benefits, costs, and coverage vary by plan and area. Medicare rules may change.

Content for educational purposes only. AskGen is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program.

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Last Updated 10.01.2026

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