If a letter arrived from your Medicare Advantage plan this fall, you may have opened it expecting the same routine mail you get every year, then found language you did not recognize. Not every Medicare letter means the same thing, and telling two specific notices apart, the Annual Notice of Change and the non-renewal notice, matters more than most people realize. This article walks you through what each one means, how to tell them apart, and what to do once you know which one you received.

What an Annual Notice of Change Tells You

Every fall, most people enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan receive an Annual Notice of Change, often shortened to ANOC. This letter means your plan is continuing into the new year, but something about it is changing. That could be your premium, your copays, which drugs are covered under your plan's formulary (the list of medications a plan covers), or which doctors and hospitals are included in your network (the group of providers your plan has agreements with). Carriers are required to send this notice every year, regardless of how small or large the changes are.

Receiving an ANOC does not mean you have to do anything right away. If you review the changes and you are still comfortable with your coverage, your plan renews automatically. Many people read through it, confirm their doctors are still included, check that their regular medications are still on the formulary, and move on with their year. It is worth the time it takes to read closely, since even small changes to a copay or a drug tier can add up, but it is not a sign that your coverage is ending.

What a Non-Renewal Notice Tells You

A non-renewal notice is a different letter entirely, even though it can look similar at first glance. This one means your Medicare Advantage plan will not be offered at all starting January 1. The carrier is exiting your county, discontinuing the plan, or otherwise ending its contract with Medicare in your area. Carriers have been narrowing where they offer plans in recent years, and a growing number of people across the country are receiving this letter for 2027.

Unlike the ANOC, a non-renewal notice calls for action on your part. It also opens enrollment rights that most Medicare beneficiaries do not otherwise have. Because your coverage is ending through no choice of your own, you generally become eligible for a Special Enrollment Period, and in many cases, a guaranteed issue right to enroll in a Medicare Supplement plan without a carrier reviewing your health history first. You can read more about how guaranteed issue enrollment works and what the window looks like. That combination does not come around often, and it does not last long once it opens.

How to Tell Which Letter You Received

If you are holding a letter and are not sure which one it is, a few details make it clear. Look closely at the language in the first paragraph. An Annual Notice of Change will describe changes to your current plan for next year, using phrases like "changes to your benefits" or "what's changing in the coming year." A non-renewal notice will state plainly that your plan will not be renewed, offered, or continued after December 31, often using words like "termination," "discontinued," or "will not be available." The envelope itself is sometimes your first clue, since non-renewal notices are frequently sent separately from the standard ANOC mailing.

If you are still not certain, the safest step is to have a licensed agent read it with you rather than guess. The two letters call for very different next steps, and a non-renewal notice comes with a deadline that guaranteed issue rights do not wait around for. Reading it correctly the first time saves you from losing time you may not be able to get back.

The Bottom Line

Whichever letter arrived in your mailbox this year, understanding it is the first step to making a confident decision about your coverage. An Annual Notice of Change asks you to review and confirm. A non-renewal notice asks you to act, and it hands you options that are worth exploring carefully rather than rushing through.