Oregon's Birthday Rule — a yearly second chance.
Most states let a Medigap carrier ask about your health when you want to switch. Oregon doesn't, if you move within the window around your birthday. It's one of the most useful — and most overlooked — rules in the state.
If you already have a Medicare Supplement policy, Oregon gives you a window around your birthday each year to switch to another Supplement plan with the same or lesser benefits — with no medical underwriting. Your health history cannot be used to decline you or to charge you more.
That matters because Medigap premiums tend to rise as the pool of people on an older plan ages. A policy that was competitive when you bought it may be well above market a few years later. The Birthday Rule is the one moment each year when you can move regardless of your health.
It applies to Medicare Supplement policies only — not to Medicare Advantage or Part D, which have their own enrollment periods.
- 01
Your birthday comes around
The window is keyed to your own birthday each year, not to the fall Annual Enrollment Period. It applies only if you already hold a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy.
- 02
We shop your current plan
Premiums drift upward as a plan's block of business ages. We compare what you hold today against the same or lesser benefit levels from the carriers we represent.
- 03
You switch without underwriting
Within the window you can move to a policy of equal or lesser benefits without answering health questions — health history can't be used to turn you down or raise your rate.
- 04
Coverage continues uninterrupted
We handle the paperwork and the timing so the new policy takes effect as the old one ends, with no gap in your coverage.
Is your birthday coming up?
Let's see what your current Supplement costs against what else is available. If switching won't help, we'll tell you that too.
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent [NUMBER] organizations which offer [NUMBER] products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Program to get information on all of your options.