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I am considering dropping Part B. Just turned 65 this past April and currently have Parts A and B.
Part B is costing $134 monthly. I work at the same company as my wife who is younger than me and does not have Medicaire as of yet. I am part time she is full time. I cannot get medical coverage since I am part time but since she is full time she can put me on her policy.
It is a qualified plan and it will save us a few bucks each month enough for it to matter to us on our current budget.
Would this allow me to drop my Part B since it is a qualified plan?
Do I have to go into the SS office to do this?
Would there be a penalty when I decide to get Part B again?
I have coverage through my spouse who is currently working. The size of the employer determines whether you may be able to delay Part A and Part B without having to pay a penalty if you enroll later.
The employer has fewer than 20 employees.
You should sign up for Part A and Part B when you're first eligible. In this case, Medicare pays before your other coverage. Learn more about how to get Parts A and B.
Note
If you don’t enroll when you’re first eligible, you may have to pay a Part B late enrollment penalty, and you may have a gap in coverage if you decide you want Part B later.
The employer has 20 or more employees.
Ask the benefits manager whether you have group health plan coverage (as defined by the IRS). People with group health coverage based on current employment may be able to delay Part A and Part B and won’t have to pay a lifetime late enrollment penalty if they enroll later.
How you delay your coverage depends on your situation:
If you’ll be getting benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) at least 4 months before you turn 65, you’ll automatically get Part A and Part B. You'll get your red, white, and blue Medicare card in the mail 3 months before your 65th birthday. If you don't want Part B, follow the instructions that came with the card. If you keep the card, you keep Part B and will pay Part B premiums.
If you won’t be getting benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) at least 4 months before you turn 65, you don’t need to do anything when you turn 65.
If you’re eligible for premium-free Part A, you can enroll in Part A at any time after you’re first eligible for Medicare. Your Part A coverage will go back (retroactively) 6 months from when you sign up (but no earlier than the first month you are eligible for Medicare). If you aren't eligible for premium-free Part A, and you don't buy it when you're first eligible, you may have to pay a penalty.
Note
Premium-free Part A coverage:
Begins 6 months back from the date you apply for Medicare (or Social Security/RRB benefits). To avoid a tax penalty, you should stop contributing to your Health Savings Account (HSA) at least 6 months before you apply for Medicare.
Begins no earlier than the first month you were eligible for Medicare.
U.S. citizens have ONE CHANCE AND ONE CHANCE ONLY to enroll in Medicare Part B without underwriting. That chance occurs when you initially enroll at age 65. After that.......well, you know about medical underwriting!!!
Everyone has different resources and incomes. I know that for most Americans, this could be a very risky move. You quit and you may not be able to get back in. Underwriting makes that decision.
U.S. citizens have ONE CHANCE AND ONE CHANCE ONLY to enroll in Medicare Part B without underwriting. That chance occurs when you initially enroll at age 65. After that.......well, you know about medical underwriting!!!
Everyone has different resources and incomes. I know that for most Americans, this could be a very risky move. You quit and you may not be able to get back in. Underwriting makes that decision.
That is a false statement. You will never be DENIED Part B if you quit it. You MAY incur a penalty IF you do not leave it for a valid reason (ie., having coverage elsewhere that Medicare recognizes or living overseas when Medicare coverage for you starts).
OP....read what is at the Medicare.gov site....do not rely on opinions such as Hollyhocks post as it can be WRONG.
If someone is actively employed and their spouse can be covered under their employer group health insurance, he or she could drop Medicare Part B coverage and not have to pay the monthly Part B premium. There will be no penalty when the spouse later wants to re-enroll in Part B.
A word of caution is that COBRA insurance is not considered a qualified plan. I made the mistake of not enrolling my husband for Medicare part B during the months that I had free COBRA insurance (part of the buyout benefit).
I am considering dropping Part B. Just turned 65 this past April and currently have Parts A and B.
Part B is costing $134 monthly. I work at the same company as my wife who is younger than me and does not have Medicaire as of yet. I am part time she is full time. I cannot get medical coverage since I am part time but since she is full time she can put me on her policy.
It is a qualified plan and it will save us a few bucks each month enough for it to matter to us on our current budget.
Would this allow me to drop my Part B since it is a qualified plan?
Do I have to go into the SS office to do this?
Would there be a penalty when I decide to get Part B again?
I provide insurance for my husband who is 71. My insurance, Blue Cross, pays just the minimal amount on any charges he has because did does not have Part B. I just got him to call and sign up. In that I am retiring there wasn't a penalty for him joining late.
Because Federal health insurance doesn't pay all that great to begin with, all the co-payments here and there, etc., I felt that it would be a good idea to have Part B to cover these costs.
Call and talk to someone at Social Security about it. If it were me, I wouldn't get rid of it. When I turn 65 I'll be on the phone signing up.
OP can disenroll from Part B and reenroll without penalty later provided wife's plan meets the guidelines outlined by dothetwist at post #2. OP should check w/his employer be sure his age isn't a factor in his coverage. Most employer plans are primary and do not require Medicare enrollment.
There is NO medical underwriting when enrolling in Medicare - at any time. Hollyhockgarden may be conflating that with late-enrollment in a Medigap. As long as OP has creditable coverage under his wife's plan, he should have no issue purchasing a Medigap when his wife's coverage ends and he reenrolls in Medicare Part B.
I'd call the SS office or get on the website to find out more. When I was working in the healthcare field I helped patients with insurance issues and we had a man on our unit who had a situation where he never enrolled in part B and could not get it later when he needed a kidney transplant. This was in 2014. I forget the details but it supposedly was a permanent ineligibility. Worth verifying with SSA.
DOTHETWIST -- I'm sorry! Not trying to stir up a storm, here What I was trying to say is Underwriting is incurred after the initial age 65 enrollment. At least that is what the person giving the seminar said. A person can be accepted the very first time in a Part B plan, but if they decided to change to a competitor Part B plan at the next "Open enrollment" period, that their acceptance into a different Part B plan would not be guaranteed, because there is underwriting. And they were only talking about the "B" plans, not the Advantage plans. But perhaps he was using scare tactics, you never know.
In fact, here in AZ, you have to "apply" through a licensed agent and they do not publish their Part B rates online for every age/zip code, since they vary, and we were told, medical conditions. They specifically advised against not enrolling in a Part B plan at the initial enrollment, saying it was the only guaranteed acceptance time, unless, there was a move to another service area, company stopping service, etc., and you needed to switch.
I am glad to hear this is not true!! The broker who was saying this was giving seminars at various public libraries around the Phoenix, AZ.
Again, DoTheTwist -- I'm not trying to create a hateful or hostile environment here!! I'm just an a ordinary pleasant lady who apparently upset you and I am sorry. I hope you have a good evening and everyone can get enrolled in their Medicare and be happy.
DOTHETWIST -- I'm sorry! Not trying to stir up a storm, here What I was trying to say is Underwriting is incurred after the initial age 65 enrollment. At least that is what the person giving the seminar said. A person can be accepted the very first time in a Part B plan, but if they decided to change to a competitor Part B plan at the next "Open enrollment" period, that their acceptance into a different Part B plan would not be guaranteed, because there is underwriting. And they were only talking about the "B" plans, not the Advantage plans. But perhaps he was using scare tactics, you never know.
In fact, here in AZ, you have to "apply" through a licensed agent and they do not publish their Part B rates online for every age/zip code, since they vary, and we were told, medical conditions. They specifically advised against not enrolling in a Part B plan at the initial enrollment, saying it was the only guaranteed acceptance time, unless, there was a move to another service area, company stopping service, etc., and you needed to switch.
I am glad to hear this is not true!! The broker who was saying this was giving seminars at various public libraries around the Phoenix, AZ.
Again, DoTheTwist -- I'm not trying to create a hateful or hostile environment here!! I'm just an a ordinary pleasant lady who apparently upset you and I am sorry. I hope you have a good evening and everyone can get enrolled in their Medicare and be happy.
I think you are confused. There is only one Part B and it has the same premium no matter where you live in the US. The exception is if you have to pay a penalty because of an "unexcused" late enrollment. It sounds like you were writing about an advantage plan or a medigap plan which are offered through private insurance companies as a supplement to Plan B. They are completely optional, but of course, necessary since Part B doesn't cover everything. There are several choices for a medigap or advantage plan, but there is no choice for the government Part B medicare. It seems highly unlikely that there is underwriting for Part B since all are eligible no matter how sick you are. SSDI recipients are also eligible for Part B.
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