SwipeHarborResearch glossary
Annual Enrollment Period (AEP)
The term can appear in a campaign calendar, a compliance checklist, or a creative brief. Identify which use applies to your note so that a scheduling reference does not become an unsupported eligibility statement. In Medicare research, AEP commonly refers to the annual enrollment period. Medicare describes its annual Open Enrollment window as October 15 through December 7. Use the official Medicare source for the calendar and for information about the changes a person can make.
The calendar date and an ad observation date describe different facts. A library record last seen before the period is not proof that the advertiser uses the same creative during the period. Keep the observation dates with the ad instead of replacing them with the enrollment calendar.
A calendar reference does not verify an advertiser benefit statement. Eligibility and plan details need their own authoritative sources and appropriate review. This glossary entry does not recommend a plan or determine what applies to an individual.
When you review a Medicare message, record the exact benefit language and any qualification visible in the source. Compare it with the stored destination evidence when that evidence exists. If the page screenshot is unavailable, leave the disclosure review incomplete rather than assuming the page contains a particular statement.
For an original brief, state the intended publication period separately from the claims review. Assign a reviewer to each proposed benefit or eligibility statement and preserve the supporting source. An observed competitor example is not an approved wording library. The finance and insurance research guide explains how to keep the offer, dates, qualifications, and page evidence together. Examples are not endorsements, and the advertiser claims in stored records are not verified.
Source: Medicare Open Enrollment. Verified October 13, 2026.