Does Medicare Open Enrollment require a POA or living will?
No. Medicare Open Enrollment is a coverage-change window. It does not require creating a power of attorney, living will, health care proxy, HIPAA authorization, or advance directive.
Document Guides
Medicare Open Enrollment Documents Checklist: What Families Should Review Before Enrollment Season
Before Medicare Open Enrollment, families can review account access, authorization forms, and healthcare decision documents. Open Enrollment itself does not require creating a POA, living will, or HIPAA authorization.
iRemoteNotary Editorial Team
Published and reviewed by iRemoteNotary
Last reviewed September 19, 2026
Quick Answer
What documents should families review before Medicare Open Enrollment?
Review Medicare account access, current contact information, any CMS or plan authorization to speak with helpers, and—separately—whether healthcare decision, HIPAA, living-will, and financial documents are still current. Open Enrollment is a planning checkpoint, not a legal mandate to create those documents.
Medicare Open Enrollment does not require a person to create a power of attorney, living will, health care proxy, HIPAA authorization, or advance directive in order to change coverage.
2026 Medicare Open Enrollment Dates (verify annually)
Dates below are from Medicare.gov and the Medicare and You Handbook 2026, reviewed September 2026. Re-check official Medicare sources each year before relying on a date-specific statement.
| Milestone | 2026 detail |
|---|---|
| Start comparing coverage | October 1, 2026 — Medicare and You notes you can begin comparing current coverage with 2027 options before Open Enrollment starts |
| Medicare Annual Open Enrollment (AEP) | October 15 – December 7, 2026 — join, switch, or drop Medicare Advantage or Part D coverage, or switch between Medicare Advantage and Original Medicare, for coverage effective January 1, 2027 if the plan receives the request by December 7 |
| Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period | January 1 – March 31, 2026 for people already in a Medicare Advantage Plan (different rules than the fall AEP) |
This page is an annual preparation and document-review workflow for families who help with Medicare plan choices. It is not a substitute for the deeper authority guide that explains how POA, Medicare authorization, and personal-representative concepts differ.
For authority-type distinctions (CMS-10106 vs CMS-1696, personal representative, POA limits), use helping a parent with Medicare: POA vs Medicare authorization vs personal representative. For the wider planning center, see Healthcare Decision Documents & Open Enrollment Planning Center.
Critical Framing: Open Enrollment Does Not Require Legal Documents
Medicare Open Enrollment does not require a person to create a power of attorney, living will, health care proxy, HIPAA authorization, or advance directive. Coverage changes and advance-care planning are different processes.
This checklist is an annual planning tool. Families often use the fall calendar as a reminder to confirm who can talk with Medicare, who can see health information, who can make medical decisions, and who can handle money—without treating those documents as enrollment prerequisites.
Do not let a seasonal marketing hook turn into a claimed legal requirement.
How This Checklist Differs From the Medicare Authority Guide
The companion article helping a parent with Medicare explains authority types: Medicare disclosure authorization, appointment of representative, HIPAA personal representative, and powers of attorney.
This checklist page’s job is preparation workflow: what to gather, update, store, and assign before and during Open Enrollment season. Use both pages; do not treat them as duplicates.
Medicare Open Enrollment Documents Checklist
Work through each block below. Skip items that do not apply. Keep roles distinct—plan comparison help is not the same as medical decision authority or financial POA power.
Medicare / plan access
Confirm Medicare account credentials (such as Medicare.gov / MyMedicare access) and recovery contacts are current.
Confirm the beneficiary’s phone, email, and mailing address match what Medicare and the current plan have on file.
Confirm whether an authorized helper is already set up for Medicare communications, and whether that setup is still the right person.
Locate any CMS authorization to disclose personal health information (families often encounter CMS-10106) and note the expiration or scope if stated.
Locate any appointment-of-representative paperwork used for claims or appeals (families often encounter CMS-1696) and keep it separate from general disclosure authorization.
Ask the current Medicare Advantage or Part D plan whether it requires its own authorization, representative, or account-permission process in addition to CMS forms.
Write down plan phone numbers, member ID, and the preferred contact procedure for enrollment questions.
Legal / decision documents
Locate any existing power of attorney and note whether it is financial, healthcare-related, or both—and what it actually authorizes.
Locate any health care proxy, medical POA, or health care surrogate designation.
Locate any HIPAA authorization or facility privacy forms on file with doctors or hospitals.
Locate any living will or other advance-directive wish documents.
Note any court-appointed guardian, conservator, or other representative designations.
For national terminology differences among proxy, medical POA, and HIPAA authorization, see health care proxy vs medical POA vs HIPAA authorization.
Document maintenance
Check that names match current legal names on Medicare and plan cards.
Update addresses, phone numbers, and emails on documents and accounts when they have changed.
Confirm selected agents, proxies, and helpers are still the right people.
Confirm successor agents are named where the form allows and still appropriate.
Confirm signatures and dates are present and readable on copies you will share.
Confirm you know where originals and working copies are stored, and who can retrieve them quickly.
Provider preparation
Ask whether primary doctors, specialists, and hospitals have current copies of the decision and information documents they need.
Ask whether any hospital or clinic requires its own acknowledgment form in addition to community advance directives.
Ask whether the plan or pharmacy needs recipient-specific authorization for helpers who pick up information or manage benefits questions.
Family coordination (keep roles distinct)
Decide who will compare Medicare Advantage / Part D options and summarize differences for the enrollee.
Decide who may talk with Medicare or the plan—and confirm that person has the correct authorization path (not merely a general family relationship).
Decide who may access medical information under HIPAA/personal-representative or authorization rules.
Decide who may make healthcare decisions if the enrollee cannot—using the correct state-law instrument.
Decide who may handle financial matters such as premiums or related bills—using financial POA or other money authority, not a HIPAA form.
- Medicare.gov / plan login and recovery contacts work
- Contact information matches Medicare and plan records
- CMS disclosure authorization located and still appropriate (if used)
- Appointment-of-representative paperwork separated from disclosure authorization (if used)
- Medicare Advantage / Part D plan-specific helper permissions checked
- POA located and scope noted (financial vs healthcare vs both)
- Health care proxy / medical POA / surrogate located (if any)
- HIPAA authorization / facility forms located (if any)
- Living will / advance-directive wishes located (if any)
- Names, addresses, phones, agents, successors, signatures, dates reviewed
- Storage location of originals and copies confirmed
- Doctors/hospitals asked whether current copies are on file
- Family roles assigned without mixing decision, information, Medicare-talk, and money authority
Caregiver Decision Tool: “I Need To…”
Use this routing section to match the task to the right document family. Mixing these jobs is a common reason helpers get stuck on phone calls during Open Enrollment.
- Speak with Medicare or get CMS to discuss the beneficiary’s information → use Medicare/CMS authorization guidance in helping a parent with Medicare (disclosure authorization such as CMS-10106 is a different tool from appointment-of-representative forms such as CMS-1696).
- Access health information from doctors or plans under HIPAA rules → use HIPAA authorization and/or personal-representative concepts; see proxy vs medical POA vs HIPAA and HHS personal-representative guidance.
- Make healthcare decisions if the enrollee cannot → use a health care proxy, medical POA, or health care surrogate under applicable state law—not a HIPAA authorization alone.
- Handle finances, premiums, or related money tasks → use a financial/general power of attorney or other money authority; a medical decision form or HIPAA form is not a substitute.
- Express end-of-life or life-prolonging treatment wishes → use a living will or other advance-directive wish document under applicable state law.
When Florida execution or notarization rules are the question, go to the Florida guides—not this checklist—as the primary answer.
Medicare Authorization Papers to Keep Straight
Medicare disclosure authorization (commonly discussed as CMS-10106) addresses permission for Medicare to talk with a chosen person about claims and health records. It is not a general power of attorney.
Appointment of representative (commonly discussed as CMS-1696) is oriented to claims and appeals representation pathways. Do not treat it as a substitute for every Open Enrollment phone call or for hospital decision-making.
Plan-specific Medicare Advantage or Part D permissions may still be required even when a CMS form is on file. Check the plan.
Deep form distinctions and personal-representative limits belong on the Medicare caregiver authority guide. This checklist only flags what to locate before enrollment season.
What This Checklist Does Not Claim
This checklist does not claim that Open Enrollment requires a POA, living will, health care proxy, HIPAA authorization, or advance directive.
This checklist does not claim that a financial POA automatically lets a helper complete every Medicare call, or that a HIPAA authorization creates treatment decision authority.
This checklist does not invent notarization requirements for healthcare documents. Witness and notarization rules depend on the document and governing law. When a power of attorney actually requires notarization and is eligible, see power of attorney online notarization.
Remote online notarization is performed under the law of the online notary’s commissioning state. A notary does not choose your Medicare or advance-directive paperwork.
Suggested Timeline Before and During Open Enrollment
Before October 1: gather account credentials, current plan documents, and the legal/authorization papers listed above; fix outdated contact information.
Around October 1: begin comparing current coverage with options for the next year using Medicare.gov tools and plan materials, as Medicare and You describes.
October 15 – December 7, 2026: complete any coverage changes you decide on; the plan must receive the enrollment request by December 7 for changes effective January 1, 2027 in the usual AEP pattern described by Medicare.gov.
After enrollment decisions: update helpers and providers if plan networks, pharmacies, or contact permissions changed.
Important Limits
Medicare rules, plan policies, and state document laws change. Complex incapacity, contested authority, or multi-state issues may require a qualified attorney or SHIP counselor for coverage questions.
iRemoteNotary provides educational information and online notarization for eligible documents. We do not enroll people in Medicare plans, draft CMS forms, or decide which helper permissions a plan must accept.
Frequently asked questions
What paperwork should caregivers organize before enrollment season?
Organize Medicare/plan access credentials, CMS and plan authorization forms if helpers will speak with Medicare, and—separately—any healthcare decision, HIPAA, living-will, and financial documents you already use. Review names, contacts, agents, copies, and storage.
Is this the same as the article about POA vs Medicare authorization?
No. That article explains authority types and CMS communication tools. This page is the annual preparation checklist and family-role workflow. Use both.
When is Medicare Open Enrollment in 2026?
Medicare’s Annual Open Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, according to Medicare.gov and the Medicare and You Handbook 2026. Re-verify dates on official Medicare sources each year.
If I only need to call Medicare for my parent, where should I start?
Start with the helping-a-parent-with-Medicare guide on authorization and personal-representative concepts, then confirm any Medicare Advantage or Part D plan-specific helper permissions.
Should every family create every document on this checklist?
No. Use the checklist selectively. Enrollment does not require completing every advance-planning document.
Related pages
Sources and Official References
The following primary sources support the legal and procedural information in this guide. Requirements can change, so confirm current rules with the receiving organization before relying on a notarized document.
Open Enrollment(opens in a new tab)
Medicare.gov
Accessed September 19, 2026
Medicare and You Handbook 2026(opens in a new tab)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Accessed September 19, 2026
Your Yearly Medicare Review(opens in a new tab)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Accessed September 19, 2026
Joining a plan(opens in a new tab)
Medicare.gov
Accessed September 19, 2026
Other Forms — Authorization to Disclose Personal Health Information(opens in a new tab)
Medicare.gov
Accessed September 19, 2026
Appeals Forms — Appointment of Representative(opens in a new tab)
Medicare.gov
Accessed September 19, 2026
Personal Representatives(opens in a new tab)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Accessed September 19, 2026
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Accessed September 19, 2026
Need a power of attorney notarized—not a Medicare form drafted?
If you are executing a power of attorney that requires notarization, is eligible for remote online notarization, and the recipient will accept that format, start a secure session with a commissioned U.S. online notary. Medicare authorizations and most healthcare decision forms are separate processes and may not need a notary at all.