Did You Sign Up Before the Deadline?

Every year from December 15th to December3 1st there is an open enrollment period regarding Medicare.  It is important to get this done on time every year.

What if this doesn’t happen on time?  If you are 65 years old, you are eligible for Medicare.  There is a period of seven months every year to enroll for Part B of Medicare.  This part of Medicare covers doctors’ visits and services you need as an outpatient.

It is important to try to get in touch with Medicare and Social Security two or three months before your 65th birthday.  Starting with the three months before your birthday you have a total of seven months to enroll.  If you do not enroll on time, there is a general enrollment period from January through March every year.  You will have to wait, however, for your benefits to actually start in July.

It is important to sign up on time for another reason, as well.  There is a penalty (10%) added to your monthly premiums for your Part B.  These premiums, including the penalty, will be deducted from your monthly Social Security check.

Regarding Part A of Medicare, you can sign up for it at any time.  There are no premiums for Part A.  This part of Medicare covers going to the hospital.

If you happen to be working when you become eligible for Medicare, there may still be some enrollment rules that apply to you.  For instance, if your employer provides health insurance, you will not have to pay the 10% fee for late enrollment.  All you need to do is make sure to enroll in Part B of Medicare within eight months after your coverage through work is discontinued.  If your Medicare Part D prescription coverage is taken care of through your employer, you may not have to pay a penalty if you don’t sign up for your own prescription drug coverage within the seven month enrollment period.  The way this works is that you can sign up for this coverage within the last six weeks of the year – any year – and your benefits will start on January 1 of the next year.

As for Medicare Advantage plans, they have a particular enrollment period as well.  Their open-enrollment period is from November 15th to December 31st every year.  There are various Medicare Advantage plans and it is important to compare them carefully, as they can cover different things and they can charge very different prices – from very high to very low – for the exact same coverage.

In addition, if you have a Medicare Advantage plan but don’t change it by December 31st, you can change to a different Medicare Advantage plan or back to Plan D of Medicare from January 1st through March 31st.

Medigap, which is also a Medicare Supplement, pays for co-pays and certain things that Medicare does not pay for.  It is important to determine what this will actually cost you.  Because Medigap does not pay for prescriptions, if you choose Medigap rather than Medicare Advantage, you will need to get prescription drug coverage.  It will be important to compare what it would cost out of your pocket with each program and decide what will be best for you.

Regardless of what you decide, start your research early and enroll on time.  That will save you money right from the start.