Wellness

[Couns1]

I will be 65 in late January.  I already have secured a supplemental medical and prescription plan for the new year.  My question from those of you have been through this process:  do I have to apply for Medicare or will I automatically receive my card?

[software]

You have to sign up.

You must sign up for Part A, you can decline Part B if you are covered by private insurance

go to SSA dot gov and search for Medicare for more information.

Edited to add, you will be qualified on Feb. 1

It's not automatic.

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@Couns1 wrote:

I will be 65 in late January.  I already have secured a supplemental medical and prescription plan for the new year.  My question from those of you have been through this process:  do I have to apply for Medicare or will I automatically receive my card?

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[Pook]

@Couns1I just turned 65 last month.  If you are already receiving Social Security then you don't have to do anything if you want both A and B.  I got my card nearly 2 months before my medicare start date.  If you are not receiving Social Security then you have to apply.

[Mollyd847]

Make sure you sign up. Go to the government official Medicare Site. I would suggest signing up for both Part A and Part B. A = you hospital care and B = everything else except for Prescription Drugs. Your Supplemental Health Insurance will kick in for whatever Medicare doesn't pay depending on your plan and any deductables you may have with it. You'll want to sign up for a Part D Prescription Drug Plan from a Health Insurance Company also. Read through the site, it's pretty self explanatory. I'm assuming you've already signed up for your Social Security too. You should start doing both several months in advance. It takes a good chunk of time for things to get processing by the government. You may want to set an appointment with your local Social Security office. They can answer all your questions. I would do that at least 3 months prior to when you want your checks and coverage to start. Happy Landings!!

[Moonchilde]

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@Mollyd847 wrote:

Make sure you sign up. Go to the government official Medicare Site. I would suggest signing up for both Part A and Part B. A = you hospital care and B = everything else except for Prescription Drugs. Your Supplemental Health Insurance will kick in for whatever Medicare doesn't pay depending on your plan and any deductables you may have with it. You'll want to sign up for a Part D Prescription Drug Plan from a Health Insurance Company also. Read through the site, it's pretty self explanatory. I'm assuming you've already signed up for your Social Security too. You should start doing both several months in advance. It takes a good chunk of time for things to get processing by the government. You may want to set an appointment with your local Social Security office. They can answer all your questions. I would do that at least 3 months prior to when you want your checks and coverage to start. Happy Landings!!

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I agree with this. In my case, three months was barely enough time, with a little luck. Four months would give you breathing room. While some people's situations allow them to zip right through in 45 days or so, for others there is back-and-forth data collecting and information certifying and verifying if you are working up until retirement.

[phoenixbrd]

I am covered in retirement by private insurance.  Part A is free but I still have to pay for Part B and the amount is based on how much money I earn annually.  If medicare age the medicare becomes my primary provider and the insurance offered by my employer becomes secondary.  I have about three insurance sources that I can select for Part
B from my employer (kaiser, Blue Cross, and can't remember the third).  The minimum that the Part B costs per month is $135 and if you earn over $85,000 in retirement it is $185.  It took a lot of research to sort this out.  Depending on your situation, it is best to ask a lot of questions from your employer and medicare long before you retire.  

[Couns1]

I retired in January 2015 and  applied on line and started receiving social security at that time.  Several folks have told me that they received their Medicare card without applying for it (they were already receving social security).  

[hoosieroriginal]

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@Pook wrote:

@Couns1I just turned 65 last month.  If you are already receiving Social Security then you don't have to do anything if you want both A and B.  I got my card nearly 2 months before my medicare start date.  If you are not receiving Social Security then you have to apply.

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@Pook - Me also.  I received my Medicare card in mail because I already receive SS.  Didn't have to go sign up. 

[Carmie]

My DH will be 65 in February. Since May, we have been hounded by Medicare Supplimental insurance companies and by Advantage plans.  Everyday we get something in the mail and our phone is ringing off of the hook.

We have always had an unlisted number and an have no idea where these companies got it.  I have blocked numerous companies from calling already 

Yesterday a caller got through and told my DH she was from Medicare.  I told him to hang up.  She was not from Medicare.  She was hawking an Advantage Plan.

My DH will have to signup for Medicare,  but he is not going on SS until he is 66.  

I feel for everyone turing 65 soon,  when my time comes, I wiill have to deal with this'll all over again.

No wonder people goes nuts with all of this information being thrown at them.

[hyacinth003]

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@Carmie wrote:

My DH will be 65 in February. Since May, we have been hounded by Medicare Supplimental insurance companies and by Advantage plans.  Everyday we get something in the mail and our phone is ringing off of the hook.

We have always had an unlisted number and an have no idea where these companies got it.  I have blocked numerous companies from calling already 

Yesterday a caller got through and told my DH she was from Medicare.  I told him to hang up.  She was not from Medicare.  She was hawking an Advantage Plan.

My DH will have to signup for Medicare,  but he is not going on SS until he is 66.  

I feel for everyone turing 65 soon,  when my time comes, I wiill have to deal with this'll all over again.

No wonder people goes nuts with all of this information being thrown at them.

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Sign up for the "do not call" list.  We have been on it, but when my husband became eligible for Medicare, the calls never stopped.  You can then go and report the number of who called you.  However, they are getting more crafty at hiding their real business.  It will just say "New York Call" or "Florida call" and it is a telemarketer.  Or it will say "cellular call" or even numbers that don't make sense.

Political or charitable groups can call.  They are exempt (figures) from the "do not call" list.  It was unreal how many calls we got.

Hyacinth