2025 Is Over — Is It too early to Start Getting Ready for AEP 2026?

The calendar has turned, and while the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (OEP) just wrapped, now is the perfect time for carriers and agencies to start preparing for the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). For many organizations, AEP is the most important three months of the year, and early preparation can be the difference between scrambling at the last minute and running a smooth, high-performing enrollment season.

One of the biggest challenges during AEP isn’t just driving enrollments—it’s ensuring that eligible members are placed in the right plans. Getting this right protects performance, stabilizes risk, and builds a book of business that can grow sustainably over time. And this is where predictive models are no longer optional—they’re critical. By leveraging demographic, behavioral, and historical utilization data, agencies and carriers can anticipate member behavior, identify potential risk exposure, and make proactive decisions that optimize alignment and outcomes.

Predictive insights transform AEP planning from reactive to strategic. They allow you to see not just who is enrolling, but how those members are likely to perform once enrolled. This means you can prioritize outreach to segments that drive the greatest impact, anticipate operational needs, and minimize surprises in medical loss ratios. Agencies and carriers that lean on these insights enter AEP with confidence, knowing their book of business is guided by data rather than guesswork.

Here are actionable ways to put predictive models to work ahead of AEP:

• Analyze your book of business: Models can identify members who are at higher risk of poor plan fit or early disenrollment, helping agencies and carriers prioritize engagement.

• Prioritize high-value segments: Predictive scoring highlights members most likely to benefit from plan adjustments or education, allowing marketing and enrollment teams to focus on where effort produces the biggest results.

• Optimize plan placement: Data-driven insights help align members with plans that match their utilization patterns, benefit preferences, and care needs, improving retention and performance outcomes.

• Streamline operations: Predictive forecasts help operations teams plan staffing, workflow, and system capacity, reducing bottlenecks and errors during peak enrollment periods.

• Align strategy with carriers: Sharing predictive insights fosters collaboration between agencies and carriers, ensuring outreach, enrollment, and risk management are coordinated and effective.

Starting early, and leaning on predictive insights, gives agencies and carriers a strategic advantage. Instead of reacting to enrollments as they come in, you can proactively guide members, reduce risk exposure, improve retention, and strengthen your book of business for the year ahead. The difference between a reactive approach and a data-driven strategy isn’t subtle—it can be the difference between underperforming and having a book of business that drives predictable, sustainable results.

AEP is just a few months away, but the work starts now. By combining early preparation, actionable insights, and predictive modeling, agencies and carriers can turn what used to feel like a stressful, high-pressure enrollment season into a period of opportunity and growth.