Medicare 123...continued

Please note that in the previous post i gave the Enrollment Calendar. This calendar is used by agents to aid in the sales field. An individual can signed up for a medicare advantage plan in different ways. One can call medicare and have the representative do the application over the phone, online by going to medicare site, walk into an agency that sales this type of plans, or simply by calling the company of choice. I can not tell you if one is better than other, i have never had the need to do that. I have heard from others and my conclusion is that one has to do research and enlight oneself before doing a thing. Now let me tell you about election periods. When an individual becomes eligible for medicare at age 65, they are called "age-ins". At this point one is eligible to enroll into a prescription drug plan, also known as, PDP or a Medicare Advantage Plan. One can choose to stay with traditional medicare and enroll into a PDP or pick a MAPD(this plans have medical/drug coverage build in). Also, some individuals may become eligible due to a qualifying disability. If you choose not to join, that is fine, you don't have to. Be aware though, that part D is a must, unless you can do without meds for the rest of your life. The reason behind the "must" is called "Late Enrollment Penalty" or LEP. If one does not join by the eligibility date, a penalty is imposed to the individual by medicare for the rest of your life. The penalty is a percentage dictated by medicare, so is different for each individual. With more seniors staying in the workforce past their 65th Bday the election period is prolonged and becomes delayed part B. For now let me stay with "age-ins" or newly eligible. To have an individual or MAPD plan one has to have medicare part A/B in place. In other words do your homework early. Apply at the local Social Security Administration Office in advance. Individuals have a 7 month election period or window. It starts 3 months before the month of your Bday, do not count that month, and it ends 3 months after. If you are enrolling into MA-only plan the code will be ICEP(Initial Coverage Election Period). If you are enrolling into an MAPD/PDP plan the code is IEP(Initial Election Period). Also, People who are in their 25th month of disability become eligible for part A/B and are qualified as newly eligible. For Prescription Drug Plans one only needs to have part A or B to be eligible. One does not have to provide proof of entitlement, the plan is required to verify with Medicare. It is safe to do the homework though, to avoid headaches. So there you have it "Aging in" can be fun...more fun coming your way, stay tune.