Key Medicare Enrollment Periods Beginning January 1st

The New Year is here! And with it comes Medicare enrollment periods for those of you who are older than age 65.

General Medicare Enrollment

The General Medicare Enrollment Period runs from January 1^st through March 31^st, of each year. If you didn’t sign up for Medicare Part A (Hospital insurance) and Part B (Medical insurance) when you were first eligible, you may do so during this time frame.

If you enroll this year, coverage will begin July 1^st.

Note: You can sign up for premium-free Part A (if eligible) at any time during or after your Initial Enrollment Period starts (Turning 65), which is the 3 months before your birthday month, your birthday month, and the three months following your birthday month. Your coverage start date will depend on when you sign up. If you want Medicare Part A and/or Part B, you can only sign up during a valid enrollment period.

However, you may have to pay a late enrollment penalty. For Medicare Part B, you’ll have to pay an additional 10 percent of the premium for each year (12-month period) that you were eligible but did not enroll.

Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period

January 1^st also marks the start of another important enrollment period: From January 1^st through February 14^th, if you are currently enrolled in a Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) plan, you are entitled to disenroll from that plan and go back to Original Medicare – that is, to enrolling in straight Part A and Part B. At this point, you could buy a Part D plan if you wanted to, as well as see if you qualify for a Medicare Supplement/ Medigap insurance plan, which is different than Medicare Advantage Part D plans.

Special Enrollment Periods

Some people who may have lost other creditable coverage, such as losing employer/group coverage, or their Medicare Advantage plan was cancelled… folks may switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan or apply for certain Medicare Supplement insurance plans during this period.

There only certain circumstances that qualify for a special enrollment period.

If you’re covered under a group health plan based on current employment, you have a SEP to sign up for Part A and/or Part B anytime as long as:

• You or your spouse (or family member if you’re disabled) is working.
• You’re covered by a group health plan through the employer or union based on that work.

You also have an 8-month SEP to sign up for Part A and/or Part B that starts at one of these times (whichever happens first):

• The month after the employment ends
• The month after group health plan insurance based on current employment ends.

In some circumstances, people who are overseas in certain foreign volunteer programs as well.

Note: COBRA doesn’t count when it comes to coverage based on current employment. Neither do retiree health plans. The term “current employment” is key here.

Part D (Prescription Drug Coverage) Enrollment and Disenrollment Periods

The normal window for enrolling in a Medicare Part D prescription drug program has closed, as of this writing. It runs from October 15^th through December 7^th, of each year. However, you can disenroll from your Medicare Advantage plan that may include prescription drug coverage, and go back to Original Medicare during the disenrollment period. At that point you can enroll into another Part D plan, but you generally cannot newly enroll in a plan unless you qualify for a special Medicare enrollment periods as described above.

Can I Enroll in Medigap During the Medicare Disenrollment Period?

Ideally, you would want to buy your Medigap insurance plan when you first become eligible for it, which is during your six-month Medigap Enrollment Period. This is centered on your birth month in the year you turn age 65. During that open enrollment period, you can select any plan and carrier in your state, regardless of your medical condition.

If you didn’t my Medigap insurance (also called Medicare supplement insurance), you can still apply, but carriers may turn you down based on your medical history.

Have questions, doubts? Concerns? Don’t miss these medicare enrollment periods. Call us today at 888-901-4870 from anywhere in the country. Or click here and send me a message via the contact form. Please note your information is kept private. We’re not a lead generation service that could generate dozens of calls. We don’t sell your information to anyone or any organization for any reason.

It’s important to act now: If you delay, you could miss key deadlines and have fewer options and be forced to pay higher premiums and penalties.

So call today. I look forward to working with you.