Applying for Medicare in 2024

Applying for Medicare can seem like an overwhelming and challenging tasks however, a Medicare enrollment will be much easier than most people might think. We prepared a comprehensive guide that will walk you through the whole process of applying for medicare this year.

In this article, you will find every necessary information regarding sign-up dates, eligibility details, coverage costs, and some alternatives you have to change coverage.

What are the parts of Medicare?

There are four parts of Medicare that covers different things.

Part A which is Hospital Insurance is covering the following:

1. Inpatient care in hospitals
2. Skilled nursing facility care
3. Hospice care
4. Home health care

Part B refers to the Medical Insurance and it is covering the following:

1. Services from doctors and other health care providers
2. Outpatient care
3. Home health care
4. Durable medical equipment (wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, etc)
5. Preventive services (screenings, shots, or vaccines)

Part D includes only drug coverage of:

1. The cost of prescription drugs

Plans that offer Medicare drug coverage are run by private insurance companies that are operating by the rules of Medicare.

Retirement comes with a wide range of different topics that a person needs to handle, and one of the most important ones refers to Medicare. It is crucial for everyone over 65 years old to decide on the Medicare program, therefore there are lots of things that need to be taken into consideration in order to make the proper decision.

Every Medicare Program Comes With a Certain Cost

As we mentioned in the beginning, Medicare is divided into several areas and every area is offering a different type of service. Logically, every service program comes with particular costs.

If you decide on a hospital service, which is the A program, you should know that it can be free only if you or your partner paid Medicare payroll taxes in the last 10 years. Those who are not qualified for free A services need to pay several hundred dollars as a monthly premium.

When it comes to the doctor visits and outpatient services, which are part of B covering, the monthly payment is going to be up to $170. In the case of the last part, which is D, which includes the cost of prescription drugs, monthly charges will be approximately $33.

Filling Medicare’s Coverage

In general, people that already have a traditional Medicare program will probably be going to sign up for a Medigap supplemental insurance plan. These types of programs are provided by private insurance companies in order to offer coverage help for co-payments, some deductibles forms, and other gaps.

However, people should know that they have the opportunity to change their Medigap plan whenever they want to, however, they can expect a higher charge or even be denied coverage based on their health condition in case they are changing program more than six months after they first signed up for the B program. Basically, Medigap has different policies, and as you saw every letter program provides various benefits. All people should know that this year’s plan F is going to be the most popular one since it covers everything.

Consider Medicare Advantage as an Alternative Option

Every person has a wide range of options to choose from. As we said, you have the right to sign up for the traditional Medicare program that will include three parts that refer to the A, B, and D one, and additionally, you can sign up for a supplemental Medigap policy, which we mentioned in the previous paragraph.

However, you also have the right to choose the alternative option which includes signing up for Medicare Advantage. It offers medical through private insurance companies. You will have coverage on the prescription of drugs. This program is called part C and it also comes with a monthly cost. For this year, the average monthly premium for Advantage plans – Part C is $19.

You should know that in many cases, Advantage policies charge a lot lower premiums than the Media programs. It is important to note that a person has a more limited choice with the Medicare Advantage program than it has with traditional Medicare. Therefore, as studies show, more people decide on original Medicare rather than on the Medicare Advantage.

When You can Apply for Medicare Program

If the person is obtaining social security benefits, he or she is going to be automatically registered for A and B parts of the Medicare program. There is also an option of turning down the benefits of part B in order to reduce monthly costs.

In the case the person does not have social security benefits, he or she is going to sign up for A and B parts. The enrollment period that lasts seven months begins three months before the month a person turns 65 years old, and ends three months after the birthday month.

If the person is still working and has health insurance through the working insurance, he or she has the right to delay the process of signing up for Medicare. However, that person is still obligated to follow the rules of signing up for Medicare in the period of eight months of losing that current coverage. In that way, a person can avoid different penalties when it comes to the enrollment process.

If you are interested to find out more about this and applying for the Medicare program, you should check boomerbenefits.com/new-to-medicare/apply-for-medicare.

Bonus Tip

In case you miss out proper time when you need to sign up for Part B during your initial enrollment period and you do not have a job anymore, you still have the option to apply for Part B during the general enrollment period from Jan. 1 to March 31. In that case, your coverage is going to start on July 1. However, the disadvantage is that you are going to pay a 10% penalty for life for every period of 12 months that you delay applying for Part B.