AMAC 2024 Medicare Guide

If you worked for a railroad, contact the RRB to sign up. After you enroll, you’ll receive your Medicare card. If you are already getting benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), in most cases, you’ll automatically get Part A and Part B starting the first day of the month you turn 65. If your birthday is on the first day of the month, Part A and Part B will start on the 1st of the prior month. To get Part A and/or Part B the month you turn 65, you will be applying during your “initial enrollment period.” This is a 7-month period that 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 would like your benefits to start on the 1st of the month that you turn 65, you must sign up during the first 3 months before the month you turn 65. If you wait until the last 4 months of your Initial Enrollment Period to sign up for Part A and/or Part B, your coverage will be delayed. You will not be subject to late penalties enrolling in the last 4 months of your Initial Enrollment Period. If you sign up for Part A and/or Part B during the first 3 months of your Initial Enrollment Period, your coverage start date will depend on your birthday. If your birthday isn’t on the first day of the month, your Part B coverage starts the first day of your birthday month. For example, Mr. Green’s 65th birthday is July 20, 2024. If he enrolls in April, May, or June, his coverage will start on July 1, 2024. If your birthday is on the first day of the month, your coverage will start the first day of the prior month. For example, Mr. Kim’s 65th birthday is July 1, 2024. If he enrolls in March, April, or May, his coverage will start on June 1, 2024. If you do not enroll into Medicare during the Initial Enrollment Period because you have existing health insurance coverage that is deemed “creditable coverage,” which includes both medical and prescription coverage, you may apply for Medicare up to three months prior to the end of your current coverage. Your coverage will start the day after your current policy ends, or on the 1st of the following month. For medical coverage to be creditable you cannot have had a break in coverage that lasted more than 63 days in a row immediately before you buy your policy. Prescription drug coverage must be as good as Medicare’s drug coverage in order to be deemed creditable. BE SURE TO ASK YOUR BENEFITS ADMINISTRATOR ABOUT BOTH TO AVOID PENALTIES.