When signing up for Medicare or changing coverage, there are various enrollment periods to take note of to ensure you avoid late enrollment penalties.
Cornerstone Senior Advisors knows how challenging it can be to keep track of all these enrollment periods. That’s why we have broken them down for you.
Initial Enrollment Period
The Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) is a personalized seven-month span that begins three months before you turn 65 and continues three months after your birth month. During this period, you can enroll in Original Medicare or Part C. You can also choose to enroll in Part D during this period to avoid late penalties.
Suppose you do not have creditable coverage and miss your IEP. In that case, you will pay the penalty for as long as you have Medicare coverage.
Special Enrollment Period
Certain situations would cause you to qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) if you did not enroll in Medicare during your IEP. With a SEP, you will typically have a two-month period where you can make adjustments to your coverage.
To qualify for a SEP, you must meet specific criteria:
- You lost your current Medicare coverage and need to enroll in a new plan
- You lost your current healthcare coverage and need to begin enrollment with Medicare
- You moved out of your Medicare plan’s service area and lost coverage
- Your plan changes its contract with Medicare
- You are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid
If you qualify for a SEP, you can switch to a new Medicare Advantage plan, Part D plan, or return to Original Medicare without paying a late penalty.
General Enrollment Period
If you did not enroll in Medicare during your personalized IEP and did not qualify for a SEP, you are in luck. The General Enrollment Period (GEP) starts on January 1 and continues through March 31 every year, but it only applies to Original Medicare, and you could be susceptible to late penalties.
If you enroll during this period, your coverage will not start until July 1 of the same year.
Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period
Once you are enrolled in Original Medicare, you will have six months to enroll in a Medicare Supplement plan. This period will begin the same day as your Part B effective date.
What makes this period so significant is that during the six months, you cannot be rejected for any supplement plan, you cannot be charged higher premiums, you will not be asked any health questions, and your coverage for any pre-existing conditions can’t be delayed.
However, once this enrollment period is over, all of these factors can apply and will more than likely impact your coverage and which supplement plan you can enroll in.