When Do I Sign Up For Medicare?

Posted on: 24 September 2020

If you are turning 65 soon, you are probably worried about getting signed up for Medicare. Many people are unsure about the timeline for signing up, along with how to do it. Does Part B automatically happen? Or is that Part A? What about Part D? While every situation is different a lot of the information for how to sign up for this new epoch of health insurance can be found here. To help you through the challenge of signing up for Medicare, each part will be discussed in order. 

Part A

Medicare Part A is usually known as hospital insurance. This part of Medicare covers you as soon as you walk into the hospital and pay your deductible of $1,408 (for the year 2020). So how do you sign up for it? Remember when you were working and part of every paycheck went towards medicare? Well, that was you paying ahead of time for your medicare. If you have worked for at least 10 years of your life it will be covered. You will also be covered if your spouse has been paying into medicare. If neither you nor your spouse has paid for medicare it can be quite pricey, and you should talk to a medicare specialist to sign up. 

Part B

Part B covers doctor's visits. The window for signing up for part B opens 3 months prior to your birthday, then continues for the month of your birthday, and three months after. There are penalties if you miss this window, so make sure that you pick your plan within that time period. You can sign up on medicare.gov. If for some reason, you were unable to sign up during the 7 month period, there are other special times available. For example, if your spouse is still working you will continue to be covered by their insurance. When they retire you will both be able to sign up without penalties. 

Part D

Medicare Part D is coverage for medications you may be on. Most people sign up when they are first available for part B. Even if you are not currently prescribed medication, it is wise to sign up just in case you need an antibiotic or something. If you do not sign up during your initial signing window you may have penalties when you do sign up. Because prescriptions are constantly changing there is an open enrollment window each year where you can change your plan. 

In conclusion, make sure you know when you need to sign up in order to avoid penalties. 

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