More than 56 million Americans have Medicare, a low-cost health plan. What do you need to do so you don’t get penalized? In Globe Live Media we tell you.
Medicare is one of the affordable health plans offered to low-income Americans. Although at first glance it seems that it is something simple to handle, the reality is that it has so many Parts and subdivisions that can make it difficult for people to understand 100% the coverage of the federal program, which serves around 56.5 million people over 65 years of age. or more.
Experts recommend understanding certain key aspects, because if you don’t understand them, you may face lifelong penalties. So it is better to be clear when choosing your coverage.
In Globe Live Media we are going to explain three factors of the utmost importance.
1.- Medicare costs
People have a vague idea that Medicare is a free program coming from the federal government. However, this is totally false.
“This comes as a surprise to so many beneficiaries who have paid [payroll] taxes throughout their working lives and assumed this would mean Medicare would be ‘paid for’ by the time they turned 65,” said Danielle Roberts, co-founder of Insurance Benefits. of the firm Boomer, in an interview with CNBC.
“Those taxes will mean no premiums for Part A, but Parts B and D have premiums that beneficiaries pay monthly during their retirement years,” she Roberts said.
Part A is the most basic and the one that is granted by default to Medicare users. Instead, Parts B and D are provided through Medicare Advantage.
Those who have a work history of at least 10 years of payment to the system through their payroll taxes are entitled to have Part A. If they do not have this requirement, then the monthly premiums could be $499 during 2022 and an increase is expected for 2023, which has not yet been announced.
There is a deductible of $1,566 dollars, which applies to the first 60 days of inpatient hospital care in a benefit period, explains the CNBC investigation.
Instead, Part B has a standard monthly premium of $170.10 for 2022. It is expected to increase for 2023. Your deductible is $233. For Part D, the costs you have to pay will depend on the type of coverage you have.
2.- Deadlines are key for registrations and premium changes
To be eligible for Medicare, you must be at least 65 years old. Thereafter, you have a seven-month initial enrollment period, beginning three months before the month you turn 65 and ending three months after.
If you delay applying because you are still working, then you have eight months to enroll from the time your work plan ends.
It is important that you know that if you do not meet the established enrollment periods, you may be subject to a lifetime late enrollment penalty.
3.- Find out about complementary insurance
One of these options is to complement your Medicare program with the Advantage plan.
“These plans have provider networks and some plans will require you to choose a primary care physician and get referrals to see certain providers and prior authorizations for many of the more expensive procedures, tests and surgeries,” Roberts told CNBC.