How to Cancel Medicare Coverage Without Penalties

To cancel Medicare coverage, the process depends on which part you want to drop: Part B and premium Part A are canceled by submitting Form CMS-1763 to the Social Security Administration, while Medicare Advantage, Part D, and Medigap policies are canceled by contacting the private insurer during a valid enrollment window. Premium-free Part A is a separate matter, tied to your Social Security benefits and effectively locked in for most people. The stakes matter: drop the wrong part at the wrong time and you can face a permanent premium surcharge of 10% per year of delay when you try to re-enroll.

Start by Identifying Which Part You’re Canceling

Medicare is not one program. Part A covers hospital stays and is usually premium-free. Part B covers doctor visits and outpatient care and carries a monthly premium of $202.90 in 2026.¹ Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Part D drug plans are sold by private insurers. Medigap is separate supplemental insurance. Each has its own cancellation route, its own timing, and its own consequences. Pick the wrong path and you can end up uninsured, penalized, or both.

How to Cancel Part B

You can cancel Part B at any time.² The form is CMS-1763, “Request for Termination of Premium Part A, Part B, or Part B Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage.” It asks for your Medicare number, the coverage you want to drop, and your desired termination date.³

You don’t just mail it in. SSA requires an appointment first, either by phone or in person, where a representative walks you through the consequences of dropping Part B before you sign.³ You don’t have to give a reason for canceling. Coverage ends on the last day of the month following the month you file the request. Submit the form on April 5, and coverage ends May 31.⁴

One warning printed on the form itself: if you pay a premium for Part A and you cancel Part B, your Part A ends too. Premium Part A cannot exist without Part B.³

The Part B Penalty You’ll Pay Forever

Cancel Part B and re-enroll later without a Special Enrollment Period, and Medicare adds 10% to your monthly premium for each full 12-month period you went without coverage when you could have had it.⁵ That surcharge is permanent. You pay it every month for as long as you have Part B.

Two years without Part B means a 20% surcharge on the 2026 standard premium of $202.90, adding roughly $40.60 per month for a total of about $243.50. Five years out means a 50% surcharge. The penalty grows the longer you wait, and it doesn’t reset.⁵

When Canceling Part B Is Reasonable

Dropping Part B makes sense if you or your spouse are still actively working and covered by an employer group health plan. That situation triggers a Special Enrollment Period: you get eight months after you stop working or lose the employer coverage, whichever comes first, to re-enroll without penalty. The coverage has to come from current employment, not a former job’s retiree plan.

Why COBRA Doesn’t Save You

COBRA lets you keep a former employer’s plan after leaving, but it doesn’t protect you from the Part B penalty. Your eight-month Special Enrollment Period starts when you stop working or lose the employer plan, whether or not you elect COBRA. Wait until COBRA runs out to enroll in Part B and you’ll almost certainly miss the window, forcing you to wait for the General Enrollment Period (January through March) and locking in the lifetime penalty. COBRA itself typically ends once you sign up for Medicare anyway.⁶ The safe move is to enroll in Part B within eight months of leaving work, even if COBRA covers you in the meantime.

Part A: What You Can and Can’t Cancel

If you pay a monthly premium for Part A because you didn’t earn enough work credits, you can cancel it using the same Form CMS-1763 and the same appointment process as Part B. The full Part A premium in 2026 is $565 per month, so dropping it when you have other hospital coverage saves real money.¹ Coverage ends on the same schedule: the last day of the month following the month you submit the request.⁴

Premium-free Part A is different, and much harder to shed. Medicare ties premium-free Part A directly to your Social Security retirement benefits. You cannot drop one while collecting the other. The only way out is to withdraw your entire Social Security application by filing Form SSA-521, which requires repaying every dollar of Social Security you and your family have received, plus any Medicare premiums, taxes, and amounts withheld, plus any Medicare payments made for your care.⁷

There’s also a strict window: you can withdraw only within 12 months of your benefit approval, and only once in your lifetime.⁷ For anyone who has collected Social Security for more than a year, canceling premium-free Part A is effectively off the table.

How to Cancel a Medicare Advantage Plan

Medicare Advantage plans are run by private insurers, so cancellation goes through the plan (or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE), not through Social Security. Timing is limited to specific windows.

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7. During this window, you can drop your Advantage plan, switch to a different one, or return to Original Medicare. Changes take effect January 1.⁸

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 through March 31. If you’re already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare during this window, and you can add a standalone Part D plan if you go back to Original Medicare. You get one change during this period, and coverage starts the first day of the month after your plan receives the request.⁹

Don’t try to cancel by simply stopping premium payments. That leads to termination for nonpayment, which can cause problems with future enrollment and may leave you uninsured with no clean handoff to a new plan.

Medigap Guaranteed Issue on Your Way Out

If you leave Medicare Advantage to return to Original Medicare, you may want a Medigap policy for out-of-pocket costs. In certain situations you have guaranteed issue rights, meaning insurers cannot deny you or charge more based on your health. If you had a Medigap policy before joining Medicare Advantage, you can buy back the same policy from the same insurer if it’s still available, or buy Medigap Plan A, B, C, D, F, G, K, or L from any insurer in your state. Apply no earlier than 60 days before your Advantage coverage ends and no later than 63 days after.¹⁰ If you joined Medicare Advantage when you first became eligible and leave within the first year, you also have Medigap rights. Miss these windows and in most states insurers can use medical underwriting to deny you or charge more.

How to Cancel a Part D Prescription Drug Plan

Part D plans are also private. You can cancel during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 through December 7) or when switching plans.⁸ You can also drop Part D if you have other creditable prescription drug coverage, such as through an employer or the VA.

The Part D penalty is structured differently from Part B’s. Go 63 or more consecutive days without creditable drug coverage after your initial enrollment window, and Medicare adds 1% of the national base beneficiary premium for each full month you were uncovered when you eventually sign up. In 2026, that base premium is $38.99.¹¹ Twenty-four months without coverage adds roughly $9.36 per month on top of your plan’s premium for as long as you have Part D.¹²

Save Your Notice of Creditable Coverage

If you drop Part D because you have drug coverage through an employer or union, keep the annual Notice of Creditable Coverage letter your plan sends. It confirms that your drug coverage is at least as good as Medicare’s standard benefit, and it’s your proof against a penalty if you ever enroll in Part D later. Medicare’s guidance is explicit: keep the notice, but don’t send it in unless you’re asked.¹³

How to Cancel a Medigap Policy

To cancel a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy, contact the insurance company directly. The mechanics are simple. The consequences aren’t. In most cases, once you drop a Medigap policy, you can’t get it back on the same terms. Outside your initial six-month Medigap open enrollment period (which starts when you turn 65 and enroll in Part B) or a guaranteed issue situation, insurers can use medical underwriting. If your health has changed, you can be denied outright or quoted a much higher premium.¹⁴

If you’re dropping Medigap to join a Medicare Advantage plan, keep the Medigap policy active until the new coverage starts. A short overlap costs less than a gap. And if Medicare Advantage doesn’t work out, your trial right to buy back the old Medigap policy is limited and time-sensitive.

Two Situations That Change the Math

Health Savings Accounts

If you contribute to an HSA through a high-deductible health plan, Medicare enrollment shuts that door. Starting the first month you’re enrolled in any part of Medicare, your HSA contribution limit is zero.¹⁵ You can still spend what’s in the account. You just can’t add to it.

The trap is retroactive coverage. When you enroll in Part A after age 65, Medicare backdates coverage up to six months (but not before your 65th birthday). Contributions made during those retroactive months become excess contributions, and the IRS imposes a 6% excise tax on them every year they stay in the account.¹⁵ The fix is to withdraw the excess and any earnings before your tax filing deadline. If you’re approaching 65, still working, and contributing to an HSA, stop contributions at least six months before you apply for Medicare.

Moving Abroad

Retirees moving overseas often want to cancel Part B because Medicare generally does not cover care outside the United States. Part D doesn’t cover prescriptions filled abroad either. Limited exceptions apply to emergencies near the U.S. border and to travel through Canada between Alaska and the lower 48.¹⁶

Living abroad does not qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period, and time overseas without Part B counts toward the late enrollment penalty. Return after five years without Part B and you face a 50% permanent surcharge. Whether the premium savings while abroad beat the penalty on return depends on how long you stay away and how certain you are that you won’t come back. If you’re not sure, keeping Part B active is the safer choice.

If You Change Your Mind: Getting Back In

Re-enrolling in Part B depends on whether you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. If you lost coverage from current employment, you have eight months from that date to re-enroll without penalty; you’ll submit Form CMS-40B and Form CMS-L564, which your employer completes to verify coverage dates.

If you don’t qualify for a Special Enrollment Period, you wait for the General Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31. Coverage starts the month after you sign up.¹⁷ That leaves a gap where you may be paying full price for care, and the late enrollment penalty applies to every monthly premium going forward. Medicare Advantage and Part D re-enrollment follow the same enrollment windows described above.

Keep the Paperwork

After you cancel any part of Medicare, keep everything: your copy of Form CMS-1763, confirmation letters from SSA or the plan, and any Notice of Creditable Coverage from an employer or drug plan. If a dispute arises later about when coverage ended or whether a penalty applies, those documents are your evidence. The burden of correcting Medicare’s records falls on you.

1
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles
2
Social Security Administration. Manage Your Medicare Benefits
3
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Form CMS-1763 – Request for Termination
4
Medicare. How to Drop Part A and Part B
5
Medicare. Avoid Late Enrollment Penalties
6
Medicare. COBRA Coverage
7
Social Security Administration. Cancel Your Benefits Application
8
Medicare. Open Enrollment
9
Medicare. Understanding Medicare Advantage and Medicare Drug Plan Enrollment Periods
10
Medicare. When Can I Buy a Medigap Policy?
11
Medicare. How Much Does Medicare Drug Coverage Cost?
12
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The Part D Late Enrollment Penalty
13
Medicare. Notice of Creditable Coverage
14
Medicare. Can I Switch or Drop My Medigap Policy?
15
Internal Revenue Service. Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans
16
Medicare. Medicare Coverage Outside the United States
17
Medicare. When Does Medicare Coverage Start?