Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro is reminding Medicare beneficiaries about new enrollment rights under Senate Bill 71. The law gives Medicare Supplement policyholders a yearly chance to compare coverage around their birthday without facing medical underwriting.
SB 71 was signed on Sept. 3, 2025. It created Delaware’s new Birthday Rule for Medigap policyholders and added protections for people moving from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare.
As the 2026 calendar year continues, many Delaware residents are nearing their first chance to use the new enrollment window. For policyholders who felt locked into older Medigap plans, this is a practical shift.
Navarro said the birthday window gives Delawareans a guaranteed period to shop for better rates or more suitable coverage. It also removes the fear that insurers will deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
Beginning Jan. 1, Delaware Medicare Supplement policyholders receive an annual Special Enrollment Period tied to their birthday. The window starts 30 days before the policyholder’s birthday and runs for at least 30 days after it.
During that period, policyholders can switch to another Medigap plan with the same or lesser benefits. They can move to another plan with their current insurer or choose a different carrier.
Under SB 71, insurers cannot use medical underwriting during the birthday enrollment period. They also cannot rely on health status or claims history to deny coverage or raise prices.
Insurance companies must notify eligible policyholders of these rights between 30 and 60 days before their birthday. That notice requirement matters because many Medicare beneficiaries miss enrollment options simply because nobody tells them in time.
The law applies to Delaware residents who bought Medicare Supplement coverage in Delaware and still live in the state.
It also applies to people who moved to Delaware with out-of-state Medigap policies once insurers know they now live in Delaware.
The law does not apply to Delaware-issued policies if the policyholder has moved out of state. It also does not apply to Medicare-eligible State of Delaware retirees for annual opt-in and opt-out decisions handled by the State Employee Benefits Committee.
SB 71 also protects people leaving Medicare Advantage plans and returning to Original Medicare during federal enrollment periods. Those periods run from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7 and from Jan. 1 through March 31.
Insurers cannot deny Medicare Supplement applications from those individuals. The law still allows carriers to rate applicants individually and apply pre-existing condition limits.
According to Beinsure analysts, Delaware’s Birthday Rule gives Medigap policyholders more leverage without forcing every insurer to reopen all plan levels at all times. It creates a narrow switch window, but for older adults paying rising premiums, narrow still beats none.
