> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://the-wealth-habit.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Your plan's October 2 letter could reopen Medigap - URL: https://the-wealth-habit.ghost.io/your-plans-october-2-letter-could-reopen-medigap/ - Published: 2026-09-28T10:09:02.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-28T10:09:02.000Z - Author: Robert Kessler ## In This Issue > **What changed:** A plan-exit letter dated October 2, 2026 reopens Medigap without health questions. > **Today's habit:** Check your Medicare claims. > **The Number:** 7%, the IRS rate on unpaid tax from October 1, 2026. > **On the calendar:** FTC scam roundtable, September 29, 2026. --- ## What Changed If your Medicare Advantage plan is leaving your area on December 31, 2026, you can buy a Medigap policy without answering health questions. The letter that proves it must be dated October 2, 2026, under [the federal rule for Advantage plan notices](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-B/part-422/subpart-V/section-422.2267?ref=the-wealth-habit.ghost.io). CMS fixed that date so Medigap rights apply the same way nationwide, special needs plans excepted. [Medicare's Medigap eligibility guide](https://www.medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/medigap/ready-to-buy/when?ref=the-wealth-habit.ghost.io) lets you apply as early as 60 days before your plan coverage ends and no later than 63 days after. For a December 31 end, that runs from November 1, 2026 to March 4, 2027\. You can pick Plan A, B, C, D, F, G, K or L, but only if you move to Original Medicare instead of another Advantage plan. Outside that window, an insurer can turn you down or price your health history into the premium. > The point: A plan-exit letter dated October 2, 2026 is the proof a Medigap insurer will ask for, so keep the original. If no such letter arrives, nothing here requires action. Your plan's letter listing every 2027 change has to be in your hands by Wednesday, September 30, 2026\. [The drug plan notice rule](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-B/part-423/subpart-V/section-423.2267?ref=the-wealth-habit.ghost.io) makes that a receipt deadline, and Advantage plans work to the same date. The letter is called the Annual Notice of Change. It shows your plan's 2027 premium and deductible, and those take effect January 1 whether you open the envelope or not. > The point: Hold the 2027 premium line against the 2026 premium on your bank draft or plan bill. Every $10 a month of increase costs you $120 in 2027. Your 2027 doctor list and drug list arrive separately, and both are due to you by October 15, 2026\. [The same Advantage plan rule](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-B/part-422/subpart-V/section-422.2267?ref=the-wealth-habit.ghost.io) sets that date for the provider directory and the Evidence of Coverage, and drug plans owe you the formulary by then. Your plan may send only a notice with a web address. Ask for paper and it must mail the documents within three business days. The Evidence of Coverage is the contract; the change letter only summarizes it. > The point: Look up each of your doctors and each prescription in the 2027 versions. If every one appears, nothing here requires action. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/c9/afc9fbf3-ce89-4a39-ad84-16a4dd3fc9b1/content/images/2026/09/twh-2026-09-28-card.png) --- ## Today's Habit **Read every line of your last Medicare claims statement and match it to a visit you remember.** **Why it matters:** A claim billed in your name for equipment or a test you never got sits on your record until someone disputes it. Nobody at Medicare knows you didn't receive it. You're the only person who does, and [Medicare's own fraud fact sheet](https://www.medicare.gov/publications/11610-4rs-for-fighting-medicare-fraud.pdf?ref=the-wealth-habit.ghost.io) says the sooner you report an error, the sooner it stops. **What it costs to skip:** It depends on whether anyone is billing in your name. Under Original Medicare, each claim line shows what you may be billed for it. A bogus line can land on you as coinsurance, or on your Medigap insurer. The FTC's own event notice says scammers work overtime during Open Enrollment. **How:** 1. Original Medicare: log in to your Medicare account at Medicare.gov and open Claims. Claims appear there as soon as they're processed, before the paper Medicare Summary Notice arrives. 2. Advantage or drug plan: find the latest Explanation of Benefits from your plan, on paper or in its member portal. 3. Put your calendar beside it. Tick each line that matches a visit, test or prescription you actually had. 4. For any line you can't match, call the provider's office first. If the answer doesn't satisfy you, call 1-800-MEDICARE, or 1-800-HHS-TIPS for the Inspector General. 5. Drug plan members can also call the Investigations Medicare Drug Integrity Contractor at 1-877-772-3379. **When it's done:** every line on the statement carries a tick, and the date you checked is written on the folder. --- ## The Number > **7%** That's what the IRS charges on tax you owed but hadn't paid, compounded daily, for the quarter starting October 1, 2026\. The [IRS fourth-quarter rate notice](https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/interest-rates-remain-the-same-for-the-fourth-quarter-of-2026?ref=the-wealth-habit.ghost.io) holds it where it was in July. On a $10,000 shortfall, 7% is $700 a year. It touches you if your September 15 estimate came up light. The fix runs through withholding, not a late check. For the underpayment penalty, [IRS Publication 505](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p505.pdf?ref=the-wealth-habit.ghost.io) treats one-fourth of your year's withholding as paid on each quarterly due date, even if it came out in December. A late estimated payment gets no such credit. So federal withholding from an IRA distribution taken before December 31, 2026 reaches back over the quarters you missed. The form is W-4R, and you can set any rate from 0% to 100%. --- ## On the Calendar > **September 29, 2026**, 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern: the FTC holds a free public roundtable on health care scams around Open Enrollment. CMS, SHIP and Senior Medicare Patrol staff take part, and you can join by Zoom or phone. --- General information, not personalised advice. Every figure here comes from the SSA, the IRS, the CMS or the plan document, and carries the year it applies to. Corrections run at the top of the next issue. — Robert Kessler