Turning 65 Medicare Top 3 Mistakes

Andrew Walsh
Phone: (920) 960-4312
Email: MedicareScreenShare@gmail.com
Website: http://www.medicarescreenshare.com

Compare Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage Plans: https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare/#/?lang=en&year=2020

The 3 biggest mistakes you can make when enrolling into Medicare at 65 are not signing up for Medicare at the right time, choosing a plan that does not meet your needs, and not working with an agent. Let's discuss all three of these mistakes right now. The first Mistake people make is that they do not enroll into Medicare at the correct time. When you turn 65 you have 7 months to enroll into Medicare. This is considered your Initial enrollment period. Your initial enrollment period stars 3 months before you turn 65, includes the month of your 65th birthday, and goes up to 3 months after the month of your 65. You will enroll into medicare at this time if you are retired or if you have a group or employer plan where Medicare is the primary payer. Medicare will most likely be the primary payer if the employer has fewer than 20 employees. Make sure check with your benefits department at work to find out if your employer coverage or Medicare will be the primary payer, and if Medicare is primary you will need to enroll into Medicare during your Initial Enrollment Period. You can enroll into Medicare later if you have credible coverage from an employer and that employer has more than 20 employees. When you retire from your employer you have a Special Enrollment period where you have 8 months after you retire and loose coverage to begin Medicare. So missing your Initial Enrollment Period or Special Enrollment period is were the mistake happens. If you miss your enrollment period you will need to wait until General Enrollment Period that runs between January 1st and March 31st of each year to get onto Medicare. Signing up during this time will make your Medicare effective July 1st. You will then be penalized with your Medicare Part B premium going up 10% for each full 12 month period that you could have had Medicare Part B. You will also most likely need to pay a late enrollment penalty for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage when you finally do enroll in Medicare with a Medicare Part D plan. You pay the Medicare Part D late enrollment penalty if you go more than 63 days without creditable drug coverage. The Part D late enrollment penalty amount is 1% of the national base beneficiary premium for each uncovered month that you did not have Part D or other creditable prescription drug coverage. The national base beneficiary premium for 2020 is $32.74. So missing your Medicare enrollment can really cost you especially if you wait more than one year after you should have started Medicare. The next Major mistake is picking a Medicare Supplement, Medicare Advantage, or Medicare Part D plan that does not meet you needs. Medicare Supplement are hardest to mess up because they do not have networks of hospitals or doctors. The big mistakes made with Medicare Supplements is missing your initial 6 month open enrollment where you can enroll in any Supplement without any health questions, or paying more than you should for coverage. Medicare supplements are standardized by letter so they must offer the same basic benefits, but you could be paying way to much for a plan if you do not look at all the Medicare Supplement companies in your area… Now you can really mess up when enrolling in the wrong Medicare Advantage or Medicare Part D plan. Medicare Advantage plans have networks so make sure you pick a plan that covers the hospitals and doctors you want to work with in your area. Also because most Medicare Advantage plans include Prescription drug coverage, make sure that the Medicare Advantage plan you are considering covers your prescriptions at a reasonable cost. If you do need to get a stand alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan to work alongside your Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement Plan make sure to shop the market every year so you are paying as little as possible for coverage. You can compare both Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans at the end of each year during the Annual Election Period that runs between October 15h and December 7th. Durning this time you can call Medicare or use Medicare’s Plan Finder Tool at www.medicare.gov/plan-compare/. I will have a video you can click on as soon as this video ends that explains how to use the Plan Finder tool, or you can use the link in the description to try it out yourself. The last mistake is not working with an Independent agent, and thinking you can navigate all the complexities of Medicare by yourself. It takes years to understand all the basics of Medicare and after 7 years I’m still learning new things about Medicare. So make sure to find a good agent who can keep you on track with your enrollment and help you pick the best Medicare Insurance plans for you.

Видео Turning 65 Medicare Top 3 Mistakes канала Andrew Walsh