AEP stands for Annual Enrollment Period, which is a designated timeframe during which individuals can make changes to their Medicare coverage. The AEP runs from October 15th to December 7th each year. During this period, Medicare beneficiaries can modify their plan choices to better suit their healthcare needs. The specific actions you can take during AEP depend on your current coverage. For example, if you have Original Medicare (Parts A & B), you can make no changes and your current coverage will renew as is. If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can change your existing plan or switch to the original Medicare. You can also enroll in a different Medicare Advantage Plan or enroll in a Prescription Drug Plan. Any changes made to your Medicare plan during AEP will take effect on January 1st of the following year. It is important to note that AEP is different from the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MA OEP), which occurs from January 1st to March 31st each year and is limited to Medicare Advantage plans.