End or Change Membership

Members can leave the plan during the Annual Enrollment Period, which takes place October 15 to December 7 each year. Anyone in a Part C Medicare Advantage Plan can change or go back to Original Medicare. With Original Medicare, you can also join a stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plan (Part D). These changes take place during the Open Enrollment Period, which takes place January 1 to March 31 each year.

There are certain situations where you can make changes to your plan at other times of the year such as: 

  • You move out of your plan’s service area.
  • You want to join a plan in your area with a 5-star rating.
  • You get or lose ‘Extra Help’ paying for prescription drug costs.

If you have any questions or would like more information on when you can end your membership:

  • Call Member Services.
  • Look in the ‘Medicare & You’ handbook. You can download a copy from the Medicare You can get a printed copy by calling Medicare at the number listed below.
  • Call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

How Do You End Your Membership in Our Plan?

You can end membership in our plan by enrolling in another Medicare plan during one of the enrollment periods. You have to ask to be disenrolled if you switch from our plan to Original Medicare without a Medicare prescription drugs plan.

These are the ways you can ask to be disenrolled:

  • Send us a written request to CareSource, P.O. Box 1294, Dayton, OH 45401-1294.
  • Call Member Services.
  • Call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

Note: If you disenroll from Medicare prescription drug coverage and go without creditable prescription drug coverage, you may need to pay a late enrollment penalty if you join a Medicare drug plan later. (“Creditable” coverage means the coverage is expected to pay, on average, at least as much as Medicare’s standard prescription drug coverage.) See your Evidence of Coverage (Chapter 6, section 10) for more information about the late enrollment penalty. To locate this document and more, visit our Plan Documents page.

If you leave CareSource, it may take time before your membership ends and your new Medicare coverage goes into effect. You can continue to get your medical care and prescription drugs through our plan until your new plan starts.

  • During this time, continue to use our CareSource pharmacies to get your prescriptions filled.
  • If you go to the hospital before the end of your Caresource membership, your hospital stay will usually be covered by us until you leave the hospital.

When Must We End Your Membership in the Plan?

CareSource must end your membership in the plan if any of the following happen:

  • If you do not stay continuously enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B.
  • If you move out of our service area.

See a full list of situations where we will end your membership in our plan in Chapter 10 of the Evidence of Coverage on our Plan Documents page.

Questions? Call Member Services.

If you feel you are being asked to leave our plan because of a health-related reason,c call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users call 1-877-486-2048. You may call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Member Services: 1-833-230-2020 (TTY: 711). We are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from October 1 through March 31 we are open the same hours, seven days a week.