Health & Benefits

There are 2 ways you can be enrolled in Medicare:

• Automatic Enrollment
• Applying for Medicare

Automatic enrollment

If you are already receiving Social Security or Railroad Board benefits for at least 4 months before reaching age 65

You will be enrolled in both Part A and Part B upon reaching age 65. About 3 months before your 65th birthday, you should receive a notification of your Medicare enrollment in the mail.

If the Social Security Administration (SSA) determines that you are disabled 

You will be enrolled in both Part A and Part B after receiving Social Security disability A federal program that gives money to people who cannot work because of a disability insurance (SSDI) benefits for 24 months.

If you are on dialysis or have ALS

You will be enrolled in Medicare when your disability A substantial impairment that functionally limits a person in carrying out major life activities, such as walking, lifting, seeing, or learning. benefits start.

If you do not want Part B benefits, you must notify Social Security in writing to decline the coverage.

Applying for Medicare

If you are not automatically enrolled in Medicare as described above, you will need to apply.

Your application must be made during a 7-month period based on when you turn age 65, called your "Initial Enrollment Period." Your 7-month Initial Enrollment Period:

• Begins 3 months before the month you turn 65,
• Includes the month you turn 65, and
• Ends 3 months after the month you turn 65.

If you do not enroll within this 7-month Initial Enrollment Period, you must wait until the next general enrollment period. This period is January 1 through March 31 of each year.

If you do not enroll until the next general enrollment period, your Part B coverage will not start until the following July.

For each year you wait to enroll after you turn 65, your Part B premium will increase by 10%. Therefore, it is important to apply for Medicare when you turn 65.

You are allowed to delay enrolling in Part B without penalty under certain special circumstances, including the following:

• You are age 65 or over and you have group health insurance based on your own or your spouse's current employment, or
• You are disabled, and you have group health insurance based on your current employment or the current employment of a family member.

In these cases, you can enroll in Part B:

• At any time during your Initial Enrollment Period, even if you are covered by the other health plan, or 
• Within 8 months after the end of the employment or the coverage (whichever is earlier).

Learn more from the official Medicare handbook, Medicare & You.