Minnesota Medigap Open Enrollment for Ages 65 to 70

By Anthony Orner, Independent Licensed Medicare Insurance Broker · Minn. Stat. 62A.31 and Commerce Bulletin 2026-3 · prices from CSG Actuarial, pulled October 7, 2026

Since August 1, 2026, a Minnesotan aged 65 to 70 who has never had a Medicare Supplement can buy one with no health questions, any plan, once. The first window opens October 15 and closes December 7, 2026, for coverage January 1, 2027. The price carries a 15% surcharge for as long as you keep the policy.

Wait until 2027 and the surcharge is 20%. January to March follows Medicare's Advantage enrollment dates, and Commerce has not said whether someone on Original Medicare can use it, so on Original Medicare December 7 is the safe date. On Basic with riders that is $409.33 a month against $427.13: $17.80 more every month, $214 a year, for the same coverage.

The insurer pays the broker; your premium is the same with or without us.

The Rule in Six Lines

The Surcharge, Year by Year

The percentage climbs five points a year until 2030, then holds at 35%. Commerce Bulletin 2026-3 spells out the years: October to December 2026 is 15%; January to March 2027 and October to December 2027 are both 20%.

Minn. Stat. 62A.31 subd. 1r(c). Today's price is $355.94 before any surcharge; real premiums will move with future rate filings, and the surcharge moves with them.

What Waiting Until January Costs, Plan by Plan

Monthly premiums for coverage starting January 1, 2027 from the insurer we place Minnesota applications with (CSG Actuarial, pulled October 7, 2026); non-tobacco, any age. Not the market low. What each plan covers: Minnesota plans and prices.

Pick the Plan You Will Keep

The window is one door, used once. Buy the Copay plan in December and decide in 2029 you want Extended Basic, and the second insurer can underwrite you.

So the choice is the one that matters. The question I ask first: how often do you see a doctor and use the hospital? Minnesota law already stops providers billing a Minnesota resident above Medicare's rate (Minn. Stat. 62J.25), so the Part A deductible and the copays usually decide it.

Who Should Not Use the Window

• Anyone in their first six months on Part B. That is a separate guaranteed issue period with no surcharge (subd. 1h(a)(1)). Turning 65? Apply before Part B starts and skip the 15%. On Medicare through disability, you get a second six months starting the month you turn 65 (subd. 1h(d)).
• Anyone who can pass health questions. The surcharge applies only to a policy bought through the window (subd. 1r(c)). Apply with health questions outside the window dates and, if the insurer accepts you, you pay the standard rate for life. If it declines you, the window is still there.
• Anyone in their first year on Medicare Advantage. Joined Advantage when your Part B started, and leaving it (or it ends) within 12 months? Any plan, no health questions, no surcharge (subd. 1u(b)(6)). Dropped a Medigap policy to try Advantage for the first time? You can take that policy back if its insurer still sells it (subd. 1u(b)(5)).
• Anyone whose Medicare Advantage plan is ending. You also have a no-surcharge right to Basic with riders, $355.94, until 63 days after the plan stops. Compare both before you apply. Blue Cross plans ending in 2027.
• Anyone 71 or older. Not eligible. Underwriting, or another guaranteed right such as an Advantage plan ending.
• Anyone who already holds a Medigap policy. The window is for a first purchase.

Leaving Medicare Advantage in the Same Window

October 15 to December 7 is also Medicare's fall enrollment period, so you can drop an Advantage plan and start a Medicare Supplement on the same January 1. You will need a separate Part D drug plan (the 2026 out-of-pocket cap was $2,100; CMS sets 2027's). In the January to March window you can leave an Advantage plan once for Original Medicare and Part D, and the Medigap starts the first of the next month.

Sources

• Minn. Stat. 62A.31 subd. 1h(a)(2) (who qualifies, no health questions), subd. 1r(c) (the surcharge schedule), subd. 1u (Medicare Advantage loss). Minnesota Commerce Administrative Bulletin 2026-3.
• Windows: 62A.3099 subd. 18b, pointing to Medicare's own enrollment periods. People in a nursing facility may enroll at other times.
• Prices: CSG Actuarial, pulled October 7, 2026, one insurer, rendered from the data file; surcharge applied on the page. Part D figure: 2026 CMS.

Anthony Orner, NPN 20586791, 1309 Route 70 West, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002, 855-559-1700, licensed in Minnesota and 34 other states. MedicareYourself (EasyKind Medicare) is an independent brokerage with no affiliation to Medicare, CMS, Minnesota Commerce or any insurer. We do not offer every plan available in your area; contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE or the Minnesota Senior LinkAge Line for all options.