What is Medicare and are you eligible for it?
Medicare is a federal health insurance program for people 65 and over.
There are some situations where you may be eligible even if you’re younger If you are under 65, you may be eligible to get Medicare earlier if you have:
- A disability,
- End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), or
- ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).
Medicare is divided into four parts:
- Medicare Part A is insurance for hospitalization, home or skilled nursing, and hospice.
- Medicare Part B is medical insurance.
- Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage Plans) is a private insurance option that covers hospital and medical costs.
- Medicare Part D covers prescription medications.
Medicare has an Initial Enrollment Period.
This period is 7 months around your 65th birthday. You need to enroll in Medicare during the 3 months before or within the 3 months after your 65th birthday month.
For example, say your 65th birthday is in November:
- 3 months before November starts August 1st. That means you can enroll starting August 1st.
- Because you turn 65 in November, you also have the whole month of November to enroll.
- 3 months after November is February. You need to enroll by the end of February.
What if you don’t enroll before your Initial Enrollment Period ends?
You may have to pay a penalty.
There are different ways to sign up for Medicare.
Retired early and are already receiving Social Security? If you retire between ages 62 and up to 4 months before your 65th birthday and are receiving Social Security retirement benefits, you’ll automatically be enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B once you turn 65.
Retiring at 65 and applying for Social Security? If you apply to receive Social Security retirement benefits 3 months before your 65th birthday or any time after, you can enroll in Medicare at the same time.
Not retiring at 65? If you are not ready to receive Social Security benefits at 65 because you are still working, you can apply online for Medicare only. Learn more about how Medicare works if you are employed past age 65.
Remember: you have a 7-month time period around your 65th birthday. So, if you wait longer than 3 months after your 65th birthday to apply for Medicare, you may have to pay a penalty.
