Another medicare question.

[Goldeneagle]

This crap is driving me nuts. I am under the impression that at age 65 you must sign up for medicare part A. I got a package from work saying that you can wait until actual retirement regardless of age with no penalty. If I sign up for medicare, I will not be able to contribute to an HSA account. Which is it? If it makes a difference, our plan at work is a Credited Plan. This is all I need on top of all the other crap I'm still dealing with. I just don't want to screw this up.

[tps7742]

Mr Randy,
I am not at Medicare age yet but dealt with my mothers business when she became incapacitated. I can’t contribute to your questions but that Medicare mine field will make us all ask questions it’s so confusing at each turn. Good luck in the mine field.

[Jerry Worley]

Good morning. I have a good friend who is an agent. Call Andy Ricker at 281-924-4543 and he will square you away.

[locolobo]

No real help here. My retirement date was 3 days before my 65th bd. But I would suggest calling your local Social Security office. SS administers medicare so They should be able to answer questions.

[Walker]

All I know is if you sign up for SS you must start Medicare then.

[Goldeneagle]

The way I'm seeing it, I will fall under the Special Enrollment Period because I'll still be working and covered under company plan. Part A is all I need to sign up for and it will not affect my HSA.

[tvc184]

This crap is driving me nuts. I am under the impression that at age 65 you must sign up for medicare part A. I got a package from work saying that you can wait until actual retirement regardless of age with no penalty. If I sign up for medicare, I will not be able to contribute to an HSA account. Which is it? If it makes a difference, our plan at work is a Credited Plan. This is all I need on top of all the other crap I'm still dealing with. I just don't want to screw this up.

I was past 65 before I went on Medicare. I called ahead of time because I had read that if you do not sign up by your 65th birthday, there was a lifetime penalty to pay. Basically your monthly premiums would go up every month for life. I was reading that on the Medicare and Social Security websites.

I also read, however, that if you were under a qualifying insurance plan, you are not restricted to that hard 65 years of age date until you’re retired. So I called.

I told the Medicare person that I was going to be 65 in about four months but I was a city employee and had Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas insurance through my job. I also told the person that I would not be retiring at or before my 65th birthday.

I was told that I was correct, I did not have to be on Medicare, because I was in fact, under a qualified healthcare with major medical plan. While I was on the phone though, I went ahead and had them complete my signup. The paperwork just took a couple of minutes on the phone. I was told that when I got ready to retire, contact them again with my retirement date and they would start my Medicare coverage with their additional Plan B, D., etc. or I could go outside to an advantage plan. I went with their B and and an advantage plan since it was paid for as part of my retirement package from the city.

So when I retired about 5 months after I turned 65, I called and gave SS my final retirement date and the date to start my Medicare.

That was it. Two phone calls and I think my city retirement paperwork about 9 months apart and it was a done deal.

So yes, there is a hard 65 year sign up requirement with penalty UNLESS you are still covered by qualifying insurance which apparently you are. I called ahead like I described so when I made my decision and the day approached, another call completed it.

[Johnny Dangerr]

I went rogue 5 years ago. We were paying BC-BS tons of money every month and I had our DR. change us to cash customers. Don't contact the ins co for any reason. We pay cash.
This month I had a small issue. Got a couple of stitches. Paid cash at our local clinic.
I am convinced Medicare / BC-BS etc is for emergency care only. If it is a couple of hundred bucks I pay and it is none of their dang business...

[tvc184]

The way I'm seeing it, I will fall under the Special Enrollment Period because I'll still be working and covered under company plan. Part A is all I need to sign up for and it will not affect my HSA.

And like mentioned, I would call ahead of time like I did, so as not to be up against any clock. Let them know your situation as in my case and hopefully yours, everything was taken care of ahead of time on the phone and in about 10 minutes.

[Huntingfool]

I went rogue 5 years ago. We were paying BC-BS tons of money every month and I had our DR. change us to cash customers. Don't contact the ins co for any reason. We pay cash.
This month I had a small issue. Got a couple of stitches. Paid cash at our local clinic.
I am convinced Medicare / BC-BS etc is for emergency care only. If it is a couple of hundred bucks I pay and it is none of their dang business...

I understand your frustration. I have seen medical bills bankrupt folks - in fact it is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy - I have also seen medical claims well over a million - hope it works out for you

[jimned]

Sign up for A it is free. I do not think it will effect any of your other ins.

[Leverhunter]

I don't know about the exceptions others have mentioned, tvc sounds like he has the best info but was under a government plan at the time. A relative of mine who did not have any insurance waited until tight around 65 to sign up and is now paying higher premiums because she waited. My understanding for most of us, we need to sign up well before 65 even if we are not going to use it to avoid the penalty. Definitely call the SS office well in advance, as in several months, to get the facts and avoid a penalty.

[Jon Stewart]

Read your SS newsletter. They put the "when to sign up for medicare" in a dark box. The headline reads, Avoid a Medicare Penalty sign up at age 65. In the box it reads sign up for medicare 3 months before you turn 65. If you don't you can be penalized with higher premiums. This is for Medicare part B.

www.socialsecurity.gov/medicareonly for info.

[Jon Stewart]

I was past 65 before I went on Medicare. I called ahead of time because I had read that if you do not sign up by your 65th birthday, there was a lifetime penalty to pay. Basically your monthly premiums would go up every month for life. I was reading that on the Medicare and Social Security websites.

I also read, however, that if you were under a qualifying insurance plan, you are not restricted to that hard 65 years of age date until you’re retired. So I called.

I told the Medicare person that I was going to be 65 in about four months but I was a city employee and had Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas insurance through my job. I also told the person that I would not be retiring at or before my 65th birthday.

I was told that I was correct, I did not have to be on Medicare, because I was in fact, under a qualified healthcare with major medical plan. While I was on the phone though, I went ahead and had them complete my signup. The paperwork just took a couple of minutes on the phone. I was told that when I got ready to retire, contact them again with my retirement date and they would start my Medicare coverage with their additional Plan B, D., etc. or I could go outside to an advantage plan. I went with their B and and an advantage plan since it was paid for as part of my retirement package from the city.

So when I retired about 5 months after I turned 65, I called and gave SS my final retirement date and the date to start my Medicare.

That was it. Two phone calls and I think my city retirement paperwork about 9 months apart and it was a done deal.

So yes, there is a hard 65 year sign up requirement with penalty UNLESS you are still covered by qualifying insurance which apparently you are. I called ahead like I described so when I made my decision and the day approached, another call completed it.

Your last sentence is not true. You must sign up for medicare whether you use it or not. Read your SS news letter. I went thru this crap when I retired. Because I didn't pay into SS I didn't think I needed to sign up for medicare, wrong. And because the City I worked for was paying for my healthcare. Because I delayed signing up I pay 20% more in medicare premiums. I write a monthly check for medicare.

Again: Read your Social Security news letter. The info is highlighted.

[Goldeneagle]

And like mentioned, I would call ahead of time like I did, so as not to be up against any clock. Let them know your situation as in my case and hopefully yours, everything was taken care of ahead of time on the phone and in about 10 minutes.

Thats part of the problem. I don't have time during the day to call because I'm working.

Read your SS newsletter. They put the "when to sign up for medicare" in a dark box. The headline reads, Avoid a Medicare Penalty sign up at age 65. In the box it reads sign up for medicare 3 months before you turn 65. If you don't you can be penalized with higher premiums. This is for Medicare part B.

www.socialsecurity.gov/medicareonly for info.

If you scroll down, I should qualify for the Special Enrollment Period because I'm still going to be working with a qualified company health plan. I'm turning 65 in January but not retiring yet.