Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Sign Up for Medicare Part B

You Shouldn’t Wait to Sign Up for Medicare Part B

HIGHLIGHTS

If you delay signing up for Medicare at 65, the so-called Initial Enrollment Period — to apply for Part B, which covers much of what we consider health care: doctor visits, tests, and other non-hospital services – you will have to pay permanently higher premiums. Such Part B mistakes appear to happen with some frequency.

Enrollment in Medicare Part A, which covers hospitalization and requires no premiums for most beneficiaries, occurs automatically at age 65 if you’re drawing Social Security retirement benefits. You have to take steps to enroll if you delay taking Social Security past age 65.

If you’re not yet receiving Social Security benefits, you also have to sign up for Part B, which this year costs $134 a month, more for individuals with incomes over $85,000 a year. The question is when to enroll.

You have seven months — the month in which you turn 65 and the three months both before and after it — to apply for Part B without penalty.

Recommended Resources

To apply for Part B: You can apply online or at a Social Security office.

Medicare Rights Center, a nonprofit which annually fields Medicare-related questions on its helpline (800-333-4114) and through its online tool Medicare Interactive.

The New York Times