Info on Registration
When you first become eligible for hospital insurance (Part A), you have a seven-month period (your initial enrollment period) in which to sign up for medical insurance (Part B). A delay on your part will cause a delay in coverage and result in higher premiums. If you are eligible at age 65, your initial enrollment period begins three months before your 65th birthday, includes the month you turn age 65 and ends three months after that birthday.
If you are eligible for Medicare based on disability or permanent kidney failure, your initial enrollment period depends on the date your disability or treatment began.
When does my enrollment in Part B become effective?
If you accept the automatic enrollment in Medicare Part B, or if you enroll in Medicare Part B during the first three months of your initial enrollment period, your medical insurance protection will start with the month you are first eligible. If you enroll during the last four months, your protection will start from one to three months after you enroll.
The following chart shows when your Medicare Part B becomes effective:
If you enroll in this month of your Initial enrollment period:
Then your Part B Medicare coverage starts:
- Three months before you become eligible for Medicare
- The month you become eligible for Medicare
- Three months after you become eligible for Medicare
General enrollment period for Part B
If you do not enroll in Medicare Part B during your initial enrollment period, you have another chance each year to sign up during a “general enrollment period” from January 1 through March 31. Your coverage begins the following July. However, your monthly premium increases 10 percent for each 12-month period you were eligible for, but did not enroll in, Medicare Part B.
Special enrollment period for people covered under an employer group health plan
If you are 65 or older and are covered under a group health plan, either from your own or your spouse’s current employment, you have a “special enrollment period” in which to sign up for Medicare Part B. This means that you may delay enrolling in Medicare Part B without having to wait for a general enrollment period and paying the 10 percent premium surcharge for late enrollment. The rules allow you to:
- Enroll in Medicare Part B any time while you are covered under the group health plan based on current employment; or
- Enroll in Medicare Part B during the eight-month period that begins with the month your group health coverage ends, or the month employment ends—whichever comes first.
- Special enrollment period rules do not apply if employment or employer-provided group health plan coverage ends during your initial enrollment period.
If you do not enroll by the end of the eight-month period, you will have to wait until the next general enrollment period, which begins January 1 of the next year. You also may have to pay a higher premium, as described in General enrollment period for Part B.
People who receive Social Security disability benefits and are covered under a group health plan from either their own or a family member’s current employment also have a special enrollment period and premium rights that are similar to those for workers age 65 or older.
Options for receiving health services
Medicare beneficiaries may have choices for receiving health care services.
You can get more information about your health care options from the following publications:
Medicare & You (Publication No. CMS-10050)—This general guide is mailed to people after they enroll in Medicare and an updated version is mailed each year after that.
Choosing a Medigap Policy : A Guide To Health Insurance For People With Medicare (Publication No. CMS-02110)—This guide describes how other health insurance plans supplement Medicare and offers some shopping hints for people looking at those plans.
To get a copy of these publications, call the Medicare toll-free number, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), or go to www.medicare.gov. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you may call TTY 1-877-486-2048.
When Should I Apply?
If you are already getting Social Security retirement or disability benefits or railroad retirement checks, you will be contacted a few months before you become eligible for Medicare and given the information you need. You will be enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B automatically. However, because you must pay a premium for Part B coverage, you have the option of turning it down.
If you are not already getting retirement benefits, you should contact us about three months before your 65th birthday to sign up for Medicare. You can sign up for Medicare even if you do not plan to retire at age 65.
Once you are enrolled in Medicare, you will receive a red, white and blue Medicare card showing whether you have Part A, Part B or both. Keep your card in a safe place so you will have it when you need it. If your card is ever lost or stolen, you can apply for a replacement card on the Internet at www.socialsecurity.gov or call Social Security’s toll-free number. You will also receive a Medicare & You (Publication No. CMS-10050) handbook hat describes your Medicare benefits and Medicare plan choices.
Special Enrollment Situations
You also should contact Social Security about applying for Medicare if:
- You are a disabled widow or widower between age 50 and age 65, but have not applied for disability benefits because you are already getting another kind of Social Security benefit;
- You are a government employee and became disabled before age 65;
- You, your spouse or your dependent child has permanent kidney failure;
- You had Medicare medical insurance in the past but dropped the coverage; or
- You turned down Medicare medical insurance when you became entitled to hospital insurance (Part A).
Information on Part B
If you have other health insurance
Medicare hospital insurance is free for almost everyone, but you do pay a monthly premium for medical insurance. If you already have other health insurance when you become eligible for Medicare, is it worth the monthly premium cost to sign up for Medicare medical insurance?
The answer varies with each person and the kind of other health insurance you may have. Although we cannot give you “yes” or “no” answers, we can offer a few tips that may be helpful when you make your decision.
If you have a private insurance plan
Get in touch with your insurance agent to see how your private plan fits with Medicare medical insurance. This is especially important if you have family members who are covered under the same policy. And remember, just as Medicare does not cover all health services, most private plans do not either. In planning your health insurance coverage, keep in mind that most nursing home care is not covered by Medicare or private health insurance policies. One important word of caution: for your own protection, do not cancel any health insurance you now have until your Medicare coverage actually begins.
If you have insurance from an employer-provided group health plan
Group health plans of employers with 20 or more employees are required by law to offer workers and their spouses who are age 65 (or older) the same health benefits that are provided to younger employees.
- If you are currently covered under an employer- provided group health plan, you should talk to your personnel office before you sign up for Medicare medical insurance.
- If you have health care protection from other plans
- If you have coverage under a program from the Department of Defense, your health benefits may change or end when you become eligible for Medicare. You should contact the Department of Defense or a military health benefits advisor for information before you decide whether to enroll in Medicare medical insurance.
- If you have health care protection from the Indian Health Service, Department of Veterans Affairs or a state medical assistance program, contact the people in those offices to help you decide whether it is to your advantage to have Medicare medical insurance.
For more information on how other health insurance plans work with Medicare, call the Medicare toll-free number 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) and ask for Medicare And Other Health Benefits: Your Guide To Who Pays First (Publication No. CMS-02179) or visit www.medicare.gov. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you may call TTY 1-877-486-2048.
This information is taken from the booklet “Medicare” published in the public interest by the Social Security Administration. https://www.ssa.gov/mediinfo.htm
Source: www.medicare.gov – The official U.S. site for people with Medicare