Expand Special Enrollment Period (SEP) Rights

More people new to Medicare should have access to a Special Enrollment Period (SEP), allowing them to more easily enroll in Medicare after their existing coverage ends. Currently, federal law only grants a SEP to individuals with employer-sponsored group coverage and for eight months after that coverage ends. Making SEPs more widely available would help prevent enrollment errors that often result when people transition to Medicare from other, non-employer coverage. Medicare Rights supports making SEPs available to people with pre-Medicare coverage other than employer-sponsored group health plans, including COBRA, VA coverage, retiree insurance, and Marketplace plans.