Medicare may be the plan for you, but is it the plan for you right now? In most cases, deciding to delay Medicare enrollment can result in additional fees on top of monthly premiums for as long as you have the policy.
How Do Late Enrollment Penalties Work?
Late enrollment penalties build after you have missed a time window to sign up for a Medicare plan. They can have a staggering impact on your premiums, taking a percentage of the premium you would be paying if you didn’t have a penalty, then adding that to your monthly cost.
When Delaying Enrollment Results in Penalties
There are other times when you can get late enrollment penalties besides missing your Initial Enrollment Period. For example – you may want to delay your enrollment because you like the health insurance you already have. Sometimes you can do that without having late fees, other times you can’t. Just because that sounds like you’ll get Medicare with no enrollment penalty, doesn’t mean you will.
You can still get late enrollment penalties if:
- You delay enrollment because your employer (or spouse’s employer) offers health insurance coverage, but the employer has fewer than 20 employees.
- You wait because you have VA benefits.
- You have TRICARE and you are not on active duty.
- Go 63 days without enrolling in a prescription drug plan after losing creditable drug coverage.
- Waiting past two months after losing employer insurance coverage to sign up.
- You delay enrollment because you have Health Insurance Marketplace coverage. You still need to sign up for Medicare when first eligible to avoid late fees.
When You Can Delay Enrollment Without Penalties
You can delay enrollment when:
- You or your spouse have employer health benefits, and that employer has at least 20 employees.
- You’re on active duty and you have TRICARE. Late fees only apply to when you’re not on active duty anymore because you have to get Medicare Part B in order to keep it.
- You’ve lived in a foreign country and you’re moving back to the U.S. You could technically be past what would be your Initial Enrollment Period had you been living in the U.S., and when you come back, you would have two months to join Medicare Advantage.
- You currently have a Medicare plan, but you moved out of its service area and need new coverage.
This kind of enrollment is known as the Special Enrollment Period. When you delay without penalty, you don’t have a specific time of year that you have to wait for before you can join. Instead, the Special Enrollment Period works by giving you a certain amount of time to join Medicare without penalty when you lose coverage from another insurance plan.
Call Us — at No Extra Cost!
Cornerstone Senior Advisors is here to help you avoid any Medicare enrollment penalties. We treat each client like family and will make sure you aren’t penalized. Call us at 316-260-3331, free of charge.