Alabama Medicare Supplement (Medigap): When You Can Buy (2026)

An Alabama Medicare supplement (Medigap) insurer cannot turn you down or price a policy on your health during your one-time, six-month open enrollment window at 65. Under Alabama rule 482-1-071-.11, the Alabama Medigap open enrollment window opens on the first day of the first month you are both 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B.1 Before 65, the Alabama Department of Insurance says, Medigap policies are not guaranteed issue in Alabama for people who have Medicare because of a disability, who are subject to each company's underwriting.1

In This Guide

• Your One-Time Alabama Medigap Open Enrollment Window
• Pre-Existing Conditions During Alabama Open Enrollment
• Alabama Medicare Supplement Under 65: Disability and ESRD
• Alabama Guaranteed-Issue Rights and the 63-Day Clock
• Which Medicare Supplement Plans You Can Buy in Alabama
• Medigap or Medicare Advantage in Alabama
• Buying a Medigap Policy Safely in Alabama
• Alabama Medigap at a Glance
• Where to Get Medigap Help in Alabama
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Your One-Time Alabama Medigap Open Enrollment Window

Alabama's Medigap open enrollment rule is subsection A of Ala. Admin. Code r. 482-1-071-.11, part of the Alabama Department of Insurance's Medicare Supplement Insurance Minimum Standards Regulation. The Alabama open enrollment window is six months long and begins with the first day of the first month in which you are both 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B.1

For a Medigap application submitted during the Alabama open enrollment window, rule 482-1-071-.11A says the insurer may not:1

• deny or condition the issuance or effectiveness of any Medigap policy available for sale in Alabama;
• set the price because of your health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, or medical condition.

Federal law sets the same floor in every state. Section 1882 of the Social Security Act, at §1882(s)(2)(A), bars a Medigap issuer from denying, conditioning, or pricing a policy on health for an applicant who applies during the six months beginning with the first month the person is 65 or older and enrolled in Part B.2 Medicare.gov calls the federal Medigap Open Enrollment Period a one-time enrollment period that doesn't repeat every year. Outside the Medigap Open Enrollment Period, Medicare.gov says, you may pay more, have fewer policy options, and be denied a policy if you don't meet the insurer's medical underwriting requirements.2

Because the Alabama window is tied to Part B, the start month moves if Part B does. An Alabamian who turns 65 but delays Part B has a Medigap open enrollment window that begins the first month both conditions are true.1

Brevy's guide to the Medigap open enrollment period covers the federal window in more depth.

Pre-Existing Conditions During Alabama Open Enrollment

Buying during the Alabama Medigap open enrollment window guarantees the sale, but whether an Alabama policy can wait to cover a pre-existing condition depends on the coverage you had before.

Alabama rule 482-1-071-.11B sets two outcomes for an open enrollment applicant, measured as of the application date:1

• At least six months of continuous creditable coverage: the insurer may not exclude benefits based on a pre-existing condition.
• Less than six months of continuous creditable coverage: the insurer must shorten any pre-existing condition exclusion period by the total months of creditable coverage you have.

Alabama rule 482-1-071-.11C sets the outer limit. Except as rule .11B and rules 482-1-071-.12 and .23 provide, a Medigap policy sold in Alabama may exclude benefits during its first six months for a pre-existing condition that was treated or diagnosed during the six months before the coverage took effect.1

Before signing, ask the insurer how it counts your creditable coverage. Brevy's guide to Medigap and pre-existing conditions explains the federal version of the waiting period.

Alabama Medicare Supplement Under 65: Disability and ESRD

The Alabama Department of Insurance's Medicare Disability Supplement Information page answers the under-65 question directly: "In Alabama, Medigap policies are not guaranteed issue for Medicare Disability insureds under age 65." The same page says Alabamians under 65 with disability Medicare "are subject to underwriting according to company provisions."1

Medicare's March 2026 guide Choosing a Medigap Policy states that federal law generally doesn't require insurance companies to sell Medigap policies to people under 65, and that a person under 65 with Medicare because of a disability or End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) might not be able to buy the Medigap policy they want, or any Medigap policy, until they turn 65.1

The guaranteed window at 65

Turning 65 changes the answer for an Alabamian on disability Medicare. The Alabama Department of Insurance says under-65 disability insureds "are guaranteed Medigap policies during a six month period beginning the month they become age 65," and the department's page extends the same six-month guarantee to ESRD patients.1

Medicare's Choosing a Medigap Policy guide adds that a person who already has Medicare Part B still gets a Medigap Open Enrollment Period on turning 65. During the Medigap Open Enrollment Period that starts at 65, Medicare's Choosing a Medigap Policy guide says, insurance companies can't refuse to sell a person who already had Part B any Medigap policy due to a disability or other health problem, or charge that person a higher premium based on health status than they charge other people who are 65.1

An Alabamian on disability Medicare who is turned down for Medigap before 65 can mark the calendar for the month of the 65th birthday. The Medigap or Medicare Advantage section below explains why Medicare Advantage and Medigap cannot be combined, which matters for anyone weighing the two routes.

Alabama Guaranteed-Issue Rights and the 63-Day Clock

Medicare.gov notes that, under federal rights, in most cases you won't be able to switch your Medigap policy outside your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period except in specific situations when you have a guaranteed-issue right.3

Alabama's guaranteed-issue rights are set by Ala. Admin. Code r. 482-1-071-.12. For an eligible person who applies during the guaranteed-issue period, Alabama rule 482-1-071-.12 bars the insurer from three things for a covered Medigap policy it offers to new enrollees:1

• denying or conditioning the issuance or effectiveness of the policy;
• pricing the policy because of health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, or medical condition;
• imposing a pre-existing condition exclusion.

Rule .12's protections reach the Medigap policies described in the rule's Subsection E, and the Subsection E plan choices are not the same in every situation, so ask the insurer which plans your situation covers before you apply.1

Situations Alabama rule 482-1-071-.12 lists

The eligible persons in Alabama rule 482-1-071-.12B include people in the following situations:1

• Employer coverage ends: your employee welfare benefit plan that supplements Medicare terminates, or stops providing all of those supplemental benefits to you.
• Your Medicare Advantage plan ends or you move: the plan's certification is terminated, the organization stops offering the plan in the area where you live, or you are no longer eligible for the plan because you changed your place of residence.
• Your Medigap coverage ends involuntarily: your Medigap enrollment ends because the insurer becomes insolvent or because of another involuntary termination of coverage.
• You dropped Medigap to try Medicare Advantage: you left a Medigap policy to enroll for the first time in a Medicare Advantage plan (or certain other plans, such as a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) provider), and you end that enrollment within the first 12 months.
• You tried Medicare Advantage or PACE at 65: on first becoming eligible for Medicare Part A at 65, you enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan or with a PACE provider, and you disenroll within 12 months after the enrollment took effect.

How the Alabama 63-day clocks run

Alabama rule 482-1-071-.12C sets when each guaranteed-issue period opens and closes. Two of the periods work like this:1

• Employer plan ends: the guaranteed-issue period begins on the later of the notice that your supplemental benefits are ending (or, without a notice, a claim denial because of the ending) or the date the coverage actually ends, and closes 63 days after that date.
• Leaving Medicare Advantage voluntarily, including a trial period: the guaranteed-issue period begins 60 days before your disenrollment takes effect and ends 63 days after the disenrollment's effective date.

Missing a 63-day deadline can put you back into medical underwriting, because outside open enrollment an insurer may deny a Medigap policy to someone who doesn't meet its underwriting requirements.2 Keep every termination notice and apply as soon as you know your coverage is ending.

The first-year Medicare Advantage trial at 65

The Alabama trial right at 65 has its own plan rule. A person who joined Medicare Advantage or PACE on first becoming eligible for Medicare Part A at 65, and who disenrolls within 12 months, is entitled under Alabama rule 482-1-071-.12 to any Medigap policy offered by any issuer.1 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) describes the federal counterpart as a "trial right" to buy a Medigap policy for anyone who joins a Medicare Advantage Plan for the first time and returns to Original Medicare within 12 months of joining.4

Brevy's national guide to Medigap guaranteed-issue rights covers the federal situations in detail.

Which Medicare Supplement Plans You Can Buy in Alabama

Medigap plans are standardized by letter. Medicare's 2026 Choosing a Medigap Policy guide charts the Medigap plans as Plans A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M and N, and states that every insurance company that sells Medigap policies must offer at least Medigap Plan A.1

Medigap plans sold to people new to Medicare on or after January 1, 2020 aren't allowed to cover the Part B deductible, so Medigap Plans C and F are no longer available to people new to Medicare. People new to Medicare on or after January 1, 2020 have the right to buy Medigap Plans D and G instead, which give the same benefits as Plans C and F but don't cover the Part B deductible.1 Medigap Plans E, H, I and J are no longer sold, but someone who already has one can generally keep it.1

Brevy's guides to how the lettered Medigap plans work and to whether you can still get Medigap Plan F compare the letters benefit by benefit.

Medigap or Medicare Advantage in Alabama

Medigap works only with Original Medicare. The CMS booklet Understanding Medicare Advantage Plans describes Medigap as extra insurance bought from a private company to help pay your share of costs in Original Medicare, and states that you can't use Medigap to pay Medicare Advantage Plan copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and premiums.4

The same CMS booklet states that if you're in a Medicare Advantage Plan, it's illegal for anyone to sell you a Medigap policy unless you're switching back to Original Medicare. The CMS booklet says to report a Medigap sales attempt to your State Insurance Department if you aren't planning to drop your Medicare Advantage Plan; in Alabama, the state insurance department is the Alabama Department of Insurance.4

Dropping Medigap for Medicare Advantage is hard to undo. The CMS booklet states that in most cases, if you drop your Medigap policy to join a Medicare Advantage Plan, you may not be able to get the same policy back.4 Medicare.gov adds that switching Medigap policies outside open enrollment may mean paying more for the new policy and answering some medical questions.3 Brevy's comparison of Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage sets the two side by side.

Buying a Medigap Policy Safely in Alabama

The Alabama Department of Insurance's Medicare Supplement Insurance Dos and Don'ts page gives Medigap buyers this advice.1

• Use the free look. Review a new Medigap policy carefully when it arrives; to cancel, return it to the company or agent under free look provisions of at least 30 days, preferably by certified mail.
• Pay the company, never in cash. Pay with a check, money order, or bank draft made payable to the insurance company, not the agent.
• Accept only a guaranteed renewable policy. The department defines guaranteed renewable as meaning the company cannot refuse to renew unless you do not pay premiums, you misrepresented your health on the application, or the company cancels all policies of that type in Alabama.
• Track delivery. Contact the company if your Medigap policy has not arrived within 30 days, and contact the insurance department if it is not delivered within 60 days.
• Walk away from pressure. The department warns that it is unlawful for agents to use high pressure tactics or make fraudulent or misleading comparisons.

Medicare's Choosing a Medigap Policy guide gives the federal version of the free look: a person has 30 days to decide whether to keep a new Medigap policy, and the free look period starts when the person gets the new policy.1 Section 1882(c)(4) of the Social Security Act separately lets a Medigap policy be returned for a full refund of premiums paid during a period of not less than 30 days after the policy is issued.3

Alabama Medigap at a Glance

Where to Get Medigap Help in Alabama

The Alabama Department of Insurance's Dos and Don'ts page tells Alabama consumers to contact the department's consumer services division with any question, or with any problem caused by a Medigap company or agent.1

Medicare's Choosing a Medigap Policy guide tells people to call their State Insurance Department or State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for state-specific Medigap information, and to visit shiphelp.org to get the number for their local SHIP.1 Brevy's Alabama Medicare hub covers Alabama's Medicare options beyond Medigap.

For questions about Original Medicare itself, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is the official Medicare line run by CMS, and TTY users call 1-877-486-2048. Medicare.gov says 1-800-MEDICARE callers can talk or live chat with a real person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except some federal holidays.5

Learn More

Find personalized help lining up your Alabama Medigap window before it closes at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.