Medicare & Employer Coverage
Employer coverage
If you’re receiving health insurance through an employer, there are certain things you’ll need to know to ensure that you’re meeting Medicare deadlines when you decide to enroll. If you’re receiving employer coverage, you are not required to enroll in Part B during your Initial Enrollment Period. Once your coverage ends, however, you have eight months to enroll in Part B. This Special Enrollment Period allows for you to switch to Medicare and receive the benefits that you would if you had enrolled during your Initial Period.
Requirements of employer coverage
To enroll after your Initial Enrollment Period, your employer will need to meet a specific requirement. If your employer has less than 20 employees, you may be charged a fee if you enroll in Part B later. Because of this, it’s best to enroll in Original Medicare when it’s first offered to you.
If you have group health plan coverage, it may be possible for you to wait to enroll in Original Medicare. For those who have premium-free Part A, enrollment can be done anytime after eligibility is announced. The coverage will extend six months previous from when enrollment occurred.
Having two forms of insurance
Suppose you have both Medicare and another form of insurance. In that case, one will be the primary payer, and the other will be the secondary payer. The primary payer is the one who is billed for the first round of charges and will be billed up to their payment cap. If there is a sum remaining, the secondary payer will be responsible for some or all of the charges.
Waiting to enroll
Waiting to enroll may seem beneficial, but could cause you to be without coverage for some time. Your Medicare most likely won’t begin exactly when your employer coverage ends, so it’s best to plan ahead for such an event. If you want to learn more about how your current coverage could impact Medicare enrollment, reach out to us. We’d be happy to answer all your questions.