New To Medicare
What Idaho residents new to Medicare need to know.
- Learn the differences between Medicare Part A, B, C, D, and Medicare Supplement plans.
- What are the enrollment rules for Medicare Part A and B?
- Why is understanding the differences in enrollment rules in Part C, D and Medicare Supplement policies important?
- How and when to enroll in Medicare Part A and B (and why you should do this) and why you should monitor its status every few days after it has been submitted.
- How and why you should set up your account on the Social Security AND Medicare.gov web site right after your Part A and B application has been approved.
- What late enrollment penalties are and how to avoid them.
- What the differences between Part C and Medicare Supplement plans are AND why it is important to enroll in a Medicare Supplement within 6-months of enrolling in Part B?
- What are the differences between Part D plans and why you should review your plan options annually?
If you are new to Medicare, please take the time to understand this topic now.
Doing so will save you many of hours of frustration with your initial enrollment, plan selection process, AND understanding of the annual plan renewal/change process.
“Medicare and You” is an important document for you to read.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes (and updates) an annual document designed for you. It is titled ‘Medicare and You’. This year’s copy is available in PDF format here. Please download this, read it, and put a note on your calendar to do the same the first quarter of next year.
Why do this? Because Medicare is updated annually and a section of this annual document contains these updates.
This will provide you a solid foundation on this topic that you will continue to build on annually.
Medicare Enrollment Rules.
Your next step is to understand the ‘enrollment rules’ for the different parts of Medicare.
If you do not follow these rules, you may end up paying ‘late enrollment penalties’ the rest of your life and may have to wait until the following year to complete the enrollment process.
These rules are available here.
How to enroll in Medicare Part A, B and set up your accounts with Social Security AND Medicare.
You can enroll in Medicare (Part A and B) by clicking here.
Be aware Social Security provides the tools for enrolling you in Medicare.
As part of this process, be sure and set up an account with Social Security. You can do this on the by clicking ‘sign in’. This is located in the upper right corner of this web page. When you click ‘sign in’ you have the opportunity to create an account. Keep your user-id and password in a save place that you can easily find. Be patient with this process.
Why do this?
So, you can follow the status of your enrollment application and access other pertinent information about your Social Security information.
When you show up in the Social Security Medicare database being enrolled in Part A and B, you can proceed with selection and enrollment in a Medicare Supplement and a prescription drug plan OR a Part C (Medicare Advantage) plan which includes prescription drug coverage.
Check the status of your application 5-days after you complete the enrollment step. If the application has not been issued yet, check back every 2-days until it has.
Do this by revisiting the Social Security website (login) and check the status of your application.
When you are enrolled in Medicare it will show up on this website. Your card and other documentation will be delivered to you by mail in 10 – 30 days or so.
When your application has been accepted (as confirmed on the website), you can move forward with:
- setting up your account on the Medicare.gov website;
- if your Part B premium isn’t being deducted from your Social Security payment, select how you will pay for your Part B monthly premium here;
- learn how your Part B premium is calculated as well as the IRMAA for Part B and D here.
If you do not instruct Social Security on how you want to pay your Part B premium, you may get an invoice(s) every 3-months for your Part B premium.
Know your enrollment periods for Part C, Part D, and Medicare Supplement plans.
Enrollment periods for Part C (Medicare Advantage) and Part D (Medicare Prescription drug plans) have their own rules for enrollment. They are reviewed here.
Learn more about Medicare Supplement enrollment periods here.
The other details about your health plan choices.
You have a choice to get your health care from ‘Original Medicare (Part A and B) with or without a Medicare Supplement plan OR by a Medicare Advantage plan (Medicare Part C).
Original Medicare.
If you choose to stay with ‘Original Medicare’ remember all physicians, hospitals, and other ‘providers’ that accept Medicare insurance (over 90% of the physicians in the US do) are available to you. You just make the appointment.
Why is this important?
According to the annual report (published by ‘Health Grades’), there is a difference in the quality of health care available in the US.
Please take a few moments and review how the top 250 hospitals in the US separate their selves from the remaining 4500+ hospitals in the US.
When you choose to remain with ‘Original Medicare’ (not enroll in Medicare Part C) most of these resources are available to you. You can check out which hospitals/physicians/other providers in the US ‘accept Medicare’ insurance here. There is a wealth of information on this website; please take your time to review everything that is available AND how they compile the information to create their their reports.
The downside of ‘Original Medicare’
There is no ‘cap’ on your annual cost sharing of Part A and B services when you use them.
This is where the benefit of enrolling in a Medicare Supplement plan comes into play.
Resources to learn about Idaho Medicare Supplement plans, Idaho Part C (Medicare Advantage) plans, and Idaho Medicare Prescription drug plans.
You can learn more about Idaho Medicare Supplement plans here.
More information about Idaho Medicare Advantage plans (Medicare Part C) is available here.
Help deciding on a Idaho Medicare Supplement plan or a Idaho Medicare Advantage plans is here.
The details of Idaho Medicare prescription drug plans is available here.
How we help you.
We help Idaho Medicare-eligible residents understand Medicare, the differences between plan choices, and having been doing this since 2012. We are Idaho residents, live in Boise, and are on Medicare.
Other services include answering questions and help people enroll in the plan(s) they feel are right for them. We also check back annually to see if their coverage needs to be updated.
Our hours are 8am to 8pm Monday through Saturday. Our goal is to be available when you have questions or need help.
People in all 44 Idaho Counties benefit from our services. Residents in the Boise and other nearby areas can meet with us face to face (covid guidelines are followed) or over the phone. People living in other parts of Idaho are done over the phone and using the internet as a tool to reference needed resources.
CMS is the author of the information we use as visual aids when talking with you on the phone. Having access to the internet while we talk will help you understand the information…and you can refer to it later.
It is normal we talk with people at least twice and quite often more.
Our goal is simple. We help you understand Medicare and understand the differences between your health insurance choices. This means finding plans that fit your retirement budget and meet your needs.
You can learn more about myself here.
Call if you would like help.
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