Please follow the rules so you don’t have to pay extra.
Enrolling in Medicare is something many older Americans are trying to do as soon as possible. However, there may be reasons to delay enrolling in Medicare. Unfortunately, they may come back to haunt you again.
If you wait too long to sign up for Medicare, you not only risk gaps in your health insurance coverage, but you may also end up paying higher premiums over your lifetime. To avoid falling into that trap, let’s take a look at how Medicare enrollment works.
What is the initial enrollment period for Medicare?
The initial Medicare enrollment period is 7 months. It begins three months before the month you turn 65 and ends three months after the month you turn 65.
During your initial enrollment period, you can sign up for Medicare Part A, which covers inpatient care, and Part B, which covers outpatient care. In addition to Part A and Part B, you can also choose to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan or a Part D prescription drug plan.
If you received Social Security benefits during your initial Medicare enrollment period, you will be automatically enrolled in Parts A and B. Otherwise, you will have to actively sign up yourself.
Cost of missing deadlines
If you don’t enroll in Medicare during your initial enrollment period, you can enroll at another time in the future. But the problem if you miss your first enrollment period is that you may end up paying additional Medicare premiums for the rest of your life.
For Medicare Part B, if you qualify for coverage but don’t enroll, there’s a 10% surcharge on your premiums every 12 months. For Medicare Part D, you will be charged an additional fee if you go more than 63 days without obtaining creditable drug coverage after your initial enrollment period ends.
Now, you should know that if you are still working and enrolled in a qualified group health plan during your initial Medicare enrollment period, you can usually avoid these penalties by enrolling during the special enrollment period afforded by these circumstances. But if you don’t qualify for a special enrollment period, waiting for Medicare can be a costly mistake.
Know when to register
You may think that delaying enrollment in Medicare is no big deal. Obviously not. Pay attention to when the first registration period takes place to avoid making mistakes you’ll regret.
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