When Can I Change My Medi Medi Advantage Plan in California?

We get the emails almost daily.

"I signed up for X plan and they don't work with my doctors or meds"

Things change in terms of our health care needs. They also change in regards to our medi-cal or LIS status.

Most people on medi medi Advantage plans don't realize that they can make changes to their Advantage plan selection much more freely than others.

Let's pull back the curtain to see what options you have if your current medi medi plan isn't the right fit along these lines:

• Quick intro to medi medi plans
• Why change medi medi plans
• When can I change my medi medi plan in California
• When can I change my LIS plan in California
• Changes in medi-cal or LIS status
• What effective date will I get if changing medi medi plan
• How to quote and apply for new Advantage plan

First, our credentials:

Let's get started!

Quick intro to medi medi plans

In case you're just getting eligible for medi medi status, let's introduce the how's and why's.

Medi Medi is short for Medicare & Medi-cal eligibility.

It means a person who is eligible for both Medicare (over 65 or disabled under 65) and medi-cal (usually based on lower income).

This status can change...come and go based on the income piece usually.

Why does this matter for Advantage plans?

There are special plans designed just for these people called D-SNPs. Short for Dual Special Need Plans.

We'll show you how to quote these plans below but the key is this..

With D-SNP plans, there can be richer benefits and less out of pocket for people who qualify versus standard Advantage plans!

So...why would a person on an Advantage plan want to change at all?

Why change medi medi plans

There are very common reasons a person may want to change their existing advantage plan.

Here are the top ones:

• I just qualified for Medi-cal or LIS
• I just lost Medi-cal or LIS status
• My current plan isn't working with my doctors or meds
• I found out there's a better plan on the market (more common than you would think!!)

Usually, it's the first or last two reasons.

Generally, it's someone getting medi-cal status (already had Medicare) or learning about a better option on the market.

It's just too confusing to select a plan on the market with so many different options and moving pieces on the Advantage market.

This is where a good third party advocate comes into play. Hello!

There's no cost for our assistance and we're not pushy! Check out the reviews above.

help@calhealth.net or pick a time to chat.

So...when can you make these changes?

When can I change my medi medi plan in California?

This is the great news! The rules are much more flexible for people with medi medi status.

Of course, we have all the standard triggers:

• Annual enrollment period: Oct 15 - Dec 7th
• Open enrollment period: Jan 1st - March 31st
• Involuntary loss of coverage (plan shuts down, etc)
• Changes in coverage mid-year; changes in networks (doctors you're in treatment no longer work with the plan, etc)
• Moves out of network area or other big changes

There are other less common triggers so check in with us about your situation at help@calhealth.net

Here's the additional flexibility piece for medi medi which just updated for 2025.

People with medi medi status can change once a month the full year now!

The effective date will be the 1st of the month following the enrollment so if you apply Feb 15th and it's approved, the effective date would be 3/1.

We can help this transition period.

What about LIS?

When can I change my LIS plan in California

LIS or Low Income Subsidy eligibility...also called "Extra Help" also has the once per month option to change plans with the same rules above.

We can help track down your LIS or medi-cal status in case you need to know.

Keep in mind that there are levels of LIS and changes in this "level" is not a trigger (say from level 1 to 2).

It's the eligibility change in LIS or Extra Help (at any level) that is the trigger.

• No LIS to LIS: Yes
• Loss of LIS completely: Yes
• Move from Level 1 to 2: No

It's really about the change in total status!

We need to make sure that there's a good understanding of the effective date.

What effective date will I get if changing medi medi plan

If we qualify for a change of medi medi plan from the above situations, the effective date of the new plan is always the same.

The first of the month following the enrollment!

So...if we become eligible for medi-cal on June 15th and we haven't made our monthly plan change...

Our effective for the new plan will be July 1st!

It's always the 1st of the month following the plan enrollment (assuming complete).

Ideally, you enroll as soon as possible in the month to allow for the transition to the new plan and get ID cards, etc for continuation of care.

The new carrier can work with you on this whole process.

Let's look at how to quote the medi medi plans and even enroll right online!

How to quote and apply for new Advantage plan

We make this really easy!

You can quote the medi medi plans here:

The quoting system is free, secure, and fast!

To see the medi medi plans, select "Show Special Need Plans" up top:

This will show the D-SNP (medi medi) plans now as well as the C-SNP plans (chronic illness plans).

To best quote, make sure to add the following under "Preferences":

• Doctors
• Medications and doses
• Preferred pharmacy

Then sort the plans by "Total Estimated Cost" so it sorts the plans according to your expected medication cost.

If you find the right fit for you, then what?

You can easily enroll right through the quote by "Adding to Cart"!

The enrollment is:

• Free
• Fast
• Secure

It ties directly into the major carrier's enrollment system.

Just make sure it's before the 1st of the month you want the new plan to start.

This is probably a good 80% of changing California medi medi plans but there's always...questions!

Reach out to us at help@calhealth.net or book a time to chat: https://direct.lc.chat/16004115/

We're happy to help as it's very complicated with so many plans on the market!

We looked at how to compare Advantage plans generally but medi medi is an added wrinkle we needed to understand.