Medigap Rules in New Jersey: Enrollment and Switching

In New Jersey, your strongest right to buy a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy is your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period, which starts the first day of the month you are 65 or older and signed up for Part B. During it, no company can turn you down or charge more because of your health. After it, you need a guaranteed issue right, or the company can ask health questions. New Jersey has no birthday rule or yearly switching window. New Jersey does have an under-65 rule: every Medigap company must offer at least Plan D to people under 65 who have Medicare because of a disability, at a rate no higher than its age 65 rate. This guide sets out each rule with its source.

New Jersey Medigap rules at a glance

Source: State Medigap rules: birthday rule and coverage under 65 (as of May 11, 2026).

Your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period

The window starts automatically the first day of the month you are both 65 or older and signed up for Part B, and it lasts six months (Medicare.gov). You can buy any Medigap plan sold in New Jersey at the same price a healthy person pays. It happens once. If you delay Part B because you are covered by an employer plan from current work, the window waits and starts when your Part B does.

After the window, there is no federal guarantee that a company will sell you a policy, and if one does, it may cost more because of past or present health problems (Medicare.gov). A company may also make you wait up to six months before covering a pre-existing condition.

Guaranteed issue rights after your window

Federal law gives you a guaranteed issue right, meaning a company must sell you certain Medigap policies without health questions, in situations like these (CMS guide Choosing a Medigap Policy):

• Your Medicare Advantage plan leaves Medicare, stops serving your area, or you move out of its service area.
• You have Original Medicare and an employer group plan (including retiree or union coverage that pays after Medicare) and that coverage is ending.
• You have a Medicare SELECT policy and move out of its service area.
• Trial right: you joined a Medicare Advantage plan or PACE when first eligible for Part A at 65, and within the first year you decide to switch to Original Medicare.
• Trial right: you dropped a Medigap policy to join a Medicare Advantage plan or SELECT policy for the first time, have been in it less than a year, and want to switch back.
• Your Medigap company goes bankrupt, or your coverage ends through no fault of your own.
• You leave a Medicare Advantage plan or drop a Medigap policy because the company broke the rules or misled you.

Switching Medigap policies in New Jersey

New Jersey has no birthday rule. The NAIC state chart, as of May 11, 2026, lists New Jersey with no birthday rule, and Medicare.gov says that in most cases you will not be able to switch policies outside your open enrollment window unless a company is willing to sell you a new one. You may have to answer medical questions and pay more.

You can still apply at any time. If you are approved, you have a 30-day free look period on the new policy, paying both premiums for that month, so you can be sure before you cancel the old one (Medicare.gov).

• Never cancel your current policy until the new company approves you in writing.
• If you are leaving Medicare Advantage for a supplement, get the Medigap approval first, then disenroll from the Advantage plan. Stopping premium payments does not disenroll you.
• Compare the new policy's pricing method (attained age, issue age or community rated), not just this year's premium.
• Ask whether the new company will make you wait for coverage of a pre-existing condition; Medicare.gov says the wait can be up to six months.

Under 65 with Medicare in New Jersey

Federal law does not require companies to sell Medigap to people under 65 (Medicare.gov), but New Jersey does. Under the New Jersey under-65 rule, every company selling Medigap must offer, at a minimum, Plan D to people on Medicare because of a disability, and the under-65 rate must be equal to or less than the company's age 65 rate (NAIC state chart, May 11, 2026).

Plan D pays the Part A deductible and coinsurance, Part B coinsurance, skilled nursing coinsurance, hospice coinsurance, blood and 80% of foreign travel emergencies. It does not pay the Part B deductible or Part B excess charges.

Timing matters. The New Jersey rate sheets say applicants cannot be turned down for Plan D during the first 12 months of their Part B enrollment. After 12 months, a company may decline you unless you have a guaranteed issue right, such as losing a Medicare Advantage plan that leaves your area.

What under-65 Plan D costs in New Jersey

The New Jersey Division of Aging Services publishes monthly Plan D rates for people on Medicare under 65. These are preferred rates, which apply if you apply during your first 12 months of Part B or with a guaranteed issue right.

Source: NJ Medicare Supplement coverage for people between ages 50 and 65 on Medicare due to disability (September 2026).

Your new window at 65

If you had Medicare before 65 because of a disability or kidney failure, the New Jersey rate sheets say you get a new six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period beginning the month you turn 65 and have Part B. During it you can buy any Medigap plan from any company selling in New Jersey, including Plan G or Plan N, without health questions.

Mark that month on your calendar. It is the moment to move from Plan D to a fuller plan, or to a lower price, with no underwriting.

Worked scenarios with dates

These are hypothetical people, not clients, to show how the New Jersey rules apply.

Illustration: a hypothetical example built from the rules and figures cited on this page, not a quote.

What Jackie checks before you apply

• Which window or right you are in today, with the start and end dates written down.
• Whether you need a letter from a former plan or employer to prove a guaranteed issue right.
• The pricing method, application fee and any pre-existing condition wait for each company she is appointed with.
• That the new policy is approved in writing before anything is canceled.
• For readers under 65: how Plan D compares with a Medicare Advantage plan or, if you qualify for NJ FamilyCare, a dual-eligible Special Needs Plan.

Who may not need a Medigap policy

• People with full NJ FamilyCare (Medicaid) or the QMB program, which already pay Medicare cost sharing.
• People covered by their own or a spouse's employer or retiree plan that works with Medicare.
• People enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. It is illegal to sell you a Medigap policy while you have Medicare Advantage, unless you are switching back to Original Medicare.
• Some people who get care through the VA or have TRICARE For Life.

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The bottom line

In New Jersey, buy your Medicare Supplement during your six-month window if you think you will want one, because afterward a company can ask health questions and there is no birthday rule to fall back on. Under 65, use your first 12 months of Part B to get Plan D, then use your new window at 65. Never cancel a policy before the new one is approved. Jackie is happy to check which window or right applies to you.