Do I have to take Medicare at 65?

Do you have to take Medicare at age 65? The short answer to this is actually “no”, you’re not required to take Medicare at 65. This also applies if you’re eligible for Medicare before age 65 due to other reasons such as being on disability for at least 24 months.

Delaying Medicare vs. Opting Out Of Medicare

Even though you’re not required to enroll in Medicare, it’s not recommended that you decline your Medicare. Now we are not talking about delaying your Medicare such as in the case that you’re still working and you have coverage through an employer that has 20 or more employees. In this case you may be able to delay your Medicare and enroll at a later date without penalty. We’ll talk about that in another post.

Instead here we’re talking about declining and opting out of your Medicare, not paying for it, and not enrolling when you’re first eligible for it. If you’re already getting a Social Security check at least 4 months prior to age 65, then you’ll be enrolled in Medicare automatically. They’ll be instructions with your card to send it back, if you decide to decline Medicare.

How To Apply For Medicare

However, If you’re not getting a retirement check from Social Security yet, then it’s your responsibility to apply for Medicare. You can do this in a few ways. We created a walk through video here: Apply For Medicare Online

Now the one big reason many people don’t want to take their Medicare is because of the COST. And we’re going to explain some ways around that in just a few minutes.

First let’s explain how Medicare fits in with all your Medical coverage and then you can decide which way to go.

For most people, Medicare Part A is free. But with Part B there’s a monthly premium, and this is what we’re referring to here – the Part B monthly Medicare premium.

A Few Reasons Why You Should Sign Up For Medicare

We’ll explain some reasons why you should take your Medicare Parts A and B.

To Avoid The Medicare Penalty

There’s a penalty of 10% of the Medicare part B premium for every 12 month period that you do not enroll. This penalty is added at the time you enroll in Part B. It is a lifelong penalty and doesn’t go away.

Here’s an Example of how it works. Let’s say the typical Medicare Part B premium for this year costs $174.70/mo. At 10% per year, if you didn’t have Part B for 3 years then you add 30% to $174.70 and that now costs you $174.70 plus $52.41 equals ($227.11/month). It can become quite a substantial amount depending on how many years you go without Part B.

To Limit Your Exposure To Financial Loss

Medicare paired with a Supplemental plan will put a cap which limits the amount of expenses you incur each year. Without Medicare Part B, you could have a major gap in your medical coverage.

If you don’t have Part B Medicare then your only options may be to pay for a private insurance plan. The costs can be much higher than what you’d pay for Medicare Part B. And these plans typically have only limited prescription drug coverage. Which by the way is not considered creditable with Medicare and that’s another penalty you could get for Part D.

Also if you wanted to sign up for only Part A (that’s the one most people don’t pay for) and not sign up for Part B, then you’ll only have partial medical coverage. Part A coverage only includes things like inpatient hospitalization, skilled nursing rehab care, hospice care, and home healthcare. Keep in mind there are also deductibles and other out of pocket costs that you could be responsible for with Part A. Those things are not covered 100%.
>Part B is the coverage that includes most everything else such as Doctor visits, outpatient care, surgery, tests, outpatient therapy and treatments, blood work, ambulance coverage, and durable medical equipment. So if you don’t have Part B then you’ll have a major gap in your medical coverage.

Some Ways To Have Part B Costs Already Paid

Another thing to keep in mind is, if you don’t have BOTH Part A and Part B then you can’t enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan or a Medicare Supplement plan.

So, we know that the main reason many people don’t want to take their Medicare is because of the COST. A lot of folks really can’t afford the Medicare Part B premium.  So here’s the good news – there are a couple of ways to have some or all of the Part B costs paid for you.

The Medicare Savings Program

The Medicare Savings program helps people on Medicare who have limited income and resources pay for their Medicare costs. So if your income and assets fall within the guidelines, which are determined by the state where you live, then you may qualify for this and your full Medicare Part B premium would be paid for you. We have a lot of clients that qualify for this program. If you want more details watch our Medicare Savings program video and then reach out to us.

The Giveback Benefit

The second way to reduce your Medicare Part B premium is by getting a Giveback benefit. This Giveback is actually a credit that is applied to your Part B costs every month. You may be able to get it by enrolling in a Medicare plan that offers this benefit. Giveback benefit plans are not available in all areas. So if you want to learn more about this then watch our popular video on the Giveback benefit where I explain in detail how it works.

So all in all, if you don’t want the possibility of sky high Medical bills, then it makes sense to enroll in Medicare. Medicare is great coverage. It’s highly recommended that you enroll when you’re first eligible, especially if you don’t have other options for medical coverage.

If you want help finding the best Medicare coverage for your needs then give us a call at (800) 783-5901. Our service is 100% free and we’re happy to help you.