If you are retiring or losing employer coverage and are in need of obtaining Medicare coverage, there are some simple steps that you will need to do to ensure that you get your coverage on time.

If you went on Medicare while you were employed and you decided to only get Part A of Medicare, you will need to get your Part B started. You just can’t go online and apply for Medicare Part B. There are a couple of forms you will need to take down to Social Security or mail into Social Security.  You need to know that you need both Part A and Part B to obtain Medicare Supplement coverage or a Medicare Advantage plan (For Part D drug coverage you only need Part A OR Part B. You do need both) This is necessary because if you cannot prove “credible coverage” you cannot start Part B whenever you want and you will be penalized 10% per year that you went without “credible coverage”.

To avoid this call or email me and I will provide you with both forms.  There is one form you to fill out another one for your employer to fill out.  You will need the original copies of each form and get them into Social Security. I suggest going into your local Social Security office and dropping these forms off in person.  You can mail them in, but I do not suggest doing that. But that’s up to you. If your HR department is not local to where you work, make sure you give yourself some extra time to get this completed.

With these completed forms you can start your Part B when you wish and this way you get your coverage under Medicare to coincide with your loss of your health coverage through your employer.

Ideally, you should get these forms into Social Security 3 months prior to your loss of coverage. I know sometimes you can’t do this for a variety of reasons. To put you at ease, I have plenty of clients who do these forms within a month of loss of coverage through their employer and still are able to obtain coverage for next month. But is always in your best interest not to wait to the last minute.