Signing Up for Medicare

Social Security signs you up for Medicare with no action on your part. In every one of the following circumstances:

•  You are coming up to your 56th birthday.
• You are already receiving retirement benefits from Social Security or the
  Railroad Retirement Board.
•  You are younger than sixty-five, but you intend to be eligible for Medicare
  based on disability.
•  You are older than sixty-five and have delayed Medicare enrollment since
  you have coverage of your spouse’s active employment.

Nevertheless, you have contacted Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board to start drawing retirement benefit payments.

Applying for Medicare Part A and B

Medicare signups for most folks is still at age sixty-five. But in recent years, the full retirement age has gradually been moved back by a few months every year. Therefore, you likely will not be automatically enrolled for Medicare but must actively apply.

Signing up from inside the United States

The mechanics of applying from inside the United States are straightforward. But being conscious of the ins and outs of the three application methods open to you is useful.

Three ways to sign up

1. Applying by phone:
2.  Using your local Social Security office
3. Applying online

Documents to provide

1. Your social security numbers
2.  Day of original birth certificate
3.  Marital status
4. Legal residency and immigration documents
5.  Evidence of employer

Living within various places for parts of the year

You can enroll in Medicare in one place. Social security wants this place to be your principal residence, defined as the place in which you file taxes, register to vote, get your driver’s license, and so on. Even if you are on the road year-round in the RV, the base you use for these activities is also the address for Medicare enrollment.

If English is not your first language.

You can request an interpreter when calling the social security administration or even visiting a local SSA office. Interpreters can be found at no charge in more than 150 languages.

Applying if you are not fully insured for Medicare

It does not matter whether you have maintained a U.S. address and telephone number, are on the electoral register, have families living in the states, return on regular visits or perhaps keep regular links in another way. Under Social Security rules, you must reside permanently within the United States, or the territories of it, to buy into Part A. Officials say a person cant establish residency in 2 places at the same time.

Opting out of or disenrolling from Part A or Part B

When Social Security automatically enrolls you in Medicare. This situation happens only if you get Social Security or railroad retirement or disability benefits. Social Security signs you up for both Part A and Part B. It sends you a letter that provides you with the option of declining Part B. If so, you must act in case you would like to opt-out. On the other hand, if you must apply for Medicare, Parts A, and B, it is your responsibility to decide whether to opt-in.

Declining Part A

You cannot opt-out of Part A if you are receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits. The only way you can do so would be to withdraw your application for disability or retirement benefits at the time or in case you have been drawing those benefits to repay the government for all the payments you have already received.

Opting out of Part B

It would help if you thought twice about saying no to Part B coverage, although it cost a monthly premium to use it. It is a crucial decision you must make during the enrollment process, particularly if you are signed up automatically. It is best to be clear about precisely how to cope with it according to your circumstances.

Knowing when to turn down Part B in case you are sixty-five or
older

When you are sixty-five or older, you should decline Part B only if you have group insurance from an employer that you are working for.

Understanding when to turn down Part B in case you are under
sixty-five

In case you have Medicare based on disability, you should decline Part B if

• You have health coverage from a company.
•  The employer has a hundred or more employees.
•  You are covered as a family member on somebody else’s group health plan
  at work, and the employer has a hundred or more employees.

Turning away Medicare Part B at any age is a risk.

Whether you have Medicare based on age or disability, you need to enroll in Part B if you have health insurance. That automatically becomes secondary to Medicare when your Medicare benefits begin. This includes the following:

•  An employer does not provide health insurance that you buy yourself on
  the open insurance market.
•  Health insurance from an employer with less than twenty employees
•  Health insurance from an employer with fewer than a hundred employees
• Retiree or COBRA benefits from a former employer
• Health benefits from the military
•  Tricare for life
•  Retiree program

Disenrolling from Part B.

You can disenroll from Part B and stop paying premiums for it in this circumstance, regardless of whether it was you or perhaps your spouse who landed a brand-new job. You can delay Part B with no penalty if you have health insurance out of your present employment, and the employer plan is primary to Medicare.