Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If you signed up for Social Security before you turned 65, you will automatically be enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B (with your eligibility for full benefits beginning when you’re 66). And you will receive your card three months before your 65th birthday. Medicare Part A offers hospitalization coverage and usually doesn’t have a premium. Medicare Part B covers outpatient medical services (such as doctor visits, x-rays, and tests), and there is a monthly premium. If you didn’t apply for Social Security before you turned 65, you’ll have to sign up for Medicare or pay a late enrollment penalty (unless you’re still working and have coverage from your employer). Feel free to contact someone at our office for more information about Medicare enrollment.

It depends on the size of your company. If you or your spouse works for a company with 20 or more employees, the coverage offered by your employer will be your primary insurance. Medicare will be your secondary insurance plan, and it can fill any coverage gaps in your company’s policy. You won’t be required to pursue a Medicare enrollment. And as long as you sign up within eight months from leaving your job, you won’t have to pay a late enrollment penalty.

If you work for a large company and are happy with the health insurance plan it offers, you may decide to hold off on signing up for Medicare Part B. However, this rule doesn’t apply if you work for a company with fewer than 20 employees. In this case, Medicare will be your primary coverage once you turn 65. So, you’ll need to sign up for both Part A and Part B while you’re still working. Some smaller employers will negotiate with insurance companies so they can keep their employee coverage as the primary coverage for employees who are 65 and older, but it isn’t common. Make sure you get it in writing from your boss before you decide to hold off on Medicare enrollment.

You’ll have to pay a late enrollment penalty, which is 10% of your Medicare Part B premium for every year that you should have had coverage. And this penalty will apply as long as you continue to receive your Medicare benefits. If you miss open enrollment or the eight-month period after you or your spouse has stopped working, you can only sign up from January to March in any year for coverage that will begin on July 1.

Most people buy a Medicare supplement policy (also called Medigap) to pay for any costs that aren’t covered under standard Medicare. They will also get Medicare Part D for prescription drug coverage, which isn’t covered by any other Medicare plans. You have the option of signing up for a Medicare Advantage plan, which covers both medical and prescription drug expenses.

Medigap policies are offered by private insurance companies, and they come in ten standardized versions (which are labeled as A through D, F, G, and K through N). Every Medigap plan with the same letter must offer the same coverage, even though the prices can vary with each insurer.

With these plans, you can use any doctor or medical facility that’s covered by Medicare, and many state insurance departments have Medigap price lists for every insurance company. Be sure to speak to someone at JWB Insurance Group for more information.