When Can I Get My Medicare

Employer Or Military Retiree Coverage

If you or your spouse has an Employer Group Health Plan as retiree health coverage from an employer or the military , you may not need additional insurance. Review the EGHPs costs and benefits and contact your employer benefits representative or SHIIP to learn how your coverage works with Medicare.

What Is The Purpose Of My Medicare Number And Card

Bring your Medicare card with you to any doctors appointment or hospital visit with any healthcare

practitioner. Similarly, whether or not you intend to see a doctor, please keep it on hand.

For claim and billing purposes, a beneficiarys Medicare number is used to identify them. Furthermore,

keeping the red, white, and blue Medicare card on hand will make an emergency health issue easier.

What Else Do I Need To Know

• Medicare can help cover your costs for health care, like hospital visits and doctors services.
• Most people dont pay a premium for Part A, but you do pay a monthly premium for Part B.
• If you cant afford the monthly premium, there are programs to help lower your costs. Get details about cost saving programs.

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Medicare Online Account Help

Learn how to get your own Medicare card and number using your Medicare online account, or the Express Plus Medicare mobile app.

The screenshots in this guide are from a computer. The screen layout will look different if youre using a mobile device.

You can get your own card online if you meet all of these requirements:

• youre living in Australia and youre an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen or you have a permanent resident visa
• youre 15 or older
• youre only on one Medicare card
• your current Medicare card has other people on it
• youre not the contact person of your current Medicare card
• you want your own Medicare card with just your name on it.

If this isnt your situation, you can complete an application to copy or transfer from one Medicare card to another form.

How Much Will I Pay For Premiums In 2021

Most people will pay the standard amount for their Medicare Part B premium. However, youll owe an IRMAA if you make more than $88,000 in a given year.

For Part D, youll pay the premium for the plan you select. Depending on your income, youll also pay an additional amount to Medicare.

The following table shows the income brackets and IRMAA amount youll pay for Part B and Part D in 2021:

There are different brackets for married couples who file taxes separately. If this is your filing situation, youll pay the following amounts for Part B:

• $148.50 per month if you make $88,000 or less
• $475.20 per month if you make more than $88,000 and less than $412,000
• $504.90 per month if you make $412,000 or more

Your Part B premium costs will be deducted directly from your Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board benefits. If you dont receive either benefit, youll get a bill from Medicare every 3 months.

Just like with Part B, there are different brackets for married couples who file separately. In this case, youll pay the following premiums for Part D:

• only the plan premium if you make $88,000 or less
• your plan premium plus $70.70 if you make more than $88,000 and less than $412,000
• your plan premium plus $77.10 if you make $412,000 or more

You can request an appeal if:

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Make Changes To Your Medicare Plan Coverage During The Right Time Of Year

One especially useful time to review your Medicare coverage is during the fall Annual Enrollment Period, or AEP.

The Medicare AEP lasts from every year. During this time, Medicare beneficiaries may do any of the following:

• Change from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan
• Change from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare
• Switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another
• Enroll in or drop Medicare Part D coverage
• Switch from one Part D plan to another

Outside of AEP, your opportunities to make changes to your Medicare plan can be limited.

Another time you may be able to change your Medicare plan include:

• Special Enrollment Periods You could potentially qualify for a Special Enrollment Period at any time throughout the year, if you meet one of a set of certain circumstances. This can include moving out of the area serviced by your current plan, losing your current plan because it is no longer offered in your area, and a number of other certain circumstances.

Does My Current Health Insurance Status Affect Whether I Can Get Va Health Care Benefits

No. Whether or not you have health insurance coverage doesnt affect the VA health care benefits you can get.

Note: Its always a good idea to let your VA doctor know if youre receiving care outside VA. This helps your provider coordinate your care to help keep you safe and make sure youre getting care thats proven to work and that meets your specific needs.

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How To Get Reimbursed From Medicare

To get reimbursement, you must send in a completed claim form and an itemized bill that supports your claim. It includes detailed instructions for submitting your request. You can fill it out on your computer and print it out. You can print it and fill it out by hand. The form asks for information about you, your claim, and other health insurance you have.

The itemized bill must contain the following information:

• Date of service

• Third Party Partners

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What Can The Medicare Blue Button Do For Me

MyMedicare.govs tools can help you manage your health information. It makes it easy for you to perform tasks such as:

• Make your records available to loved ones in case of a medical emergency
• See when you had your last vaccination, health screening, or other preventive services
• Update or print a list your current prescription medications
• View your Medicare claims
• View your current Medicare Summary Notice, which is the notice that people with Original Medicare receive in the mail every 3 months for their Medicare Part A and Part B-covered services
• Enter or update your emergency contact list
• Add health care providers to your Favorite Providers list
• See Medicare plans offered by private insurance companies contracted with Medicare in which you are enrolled and view limited coverage details.
• View your current Medicare Part B annual deductible and whether you have met this deductible from the medical expenses you have already paid and, if not, the amount you will yet pay to satisfy the deductible.

From every page in the MyMedicare.gov portal, you can click the Blue Button to download the data.

You can help your doctor get access to all the necessary information about your Medicare coverage, drugs, and health records to provide you with the care you need. Get your MyMedicare.gov On the Go Report and keep it with you so doctors can help you. You never know when you might need to see a doctor while youre out of town, and not every doctor has your personal list of medications.

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How Do I Replace My Medicare Card

Fortunately, if your Medicare card is lost, stolen, or destroyed, replacing your Medicare card is easy. You can call the United States Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 , Monday Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or contact your local Social Security office. You can also get a replacement card by using your online my Social Security account. If you dont have an account, you can create one on the website. When you log in, select the Replacement Documents tab and then select Mail my replacement Medicare Card. You will receive your Medicare card in the mail within 30 days.

For free, accurate comparisons of Medicare Advantage , Medicare Supplement , and Medicare Prescription Drug plans, get an online quote at Medicare.org. Or call TTY 711 to get answers and guidance over the phone from an experienced licensed sales agent. Standard call center hours of operation are Monday Friday 5:00 am to 6:00 pm PT. During the Annual Enrollment Period , extended hours are Monday Saturday 5:00 am to 8:00 pm PT.

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The Many Features Of The Medicare Blue Button

Medicares Blue Button is an online tool you can use to access your health information securely. You can decide to share that information with your doctors, loved ones, or anyone else of your choosing. Its available on the MyMedicare.gov site, which helps you keep track of your Medicare claims, and more.

The Blue Button initiative began during the Markle Foundation Work Group on Consumer Engagement meeting in New York City in January, 2010. The meeting included representatives from the private insurance industry, not-for-profit foundations, and the federal government. The discussions centered around one simple idea: give Medicare beneficiaries access to their personal health information to help them make decisions that could improve the quality of their care and health. Within several years, hundreds of private insurance carriers and health-care providers had followed government agencies such as the Veterans Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to add functionality similar to the Blue Button to their websites.

NEW TO MEDICARE?

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What Is Medicare Reimbursement

If youre on Medicare, your doctors will usually bill Medicare for any care you obtain. Medicare will then pay its rate directly to your doctor. Your doctor will only charge you for any copay, deductible, or coinsurance you owe.

In certain situations, your doctor may ask you to pay the full cost of your careeither up-front or in a bill this might happen if your doctor doesnt participate in Medicare.

If your doctor doesnt bill Medicare directly, you can file a claim asking Medicare to reimburse you for costs that you had to pay.

Ready To Change Coverage Youre Not Alone

Youve done your homework, carefully compared Medicare coverage options, and youve become one of more than 63 million Americans enrolled in some kind of Medicare plan.

And now whats this? Youre ready to change your Medicare plan or your coverage?

Youre not alone. Hundreds of thousands of Medicare enrollees take a hard look at their Medicare coverage and decide to switch each year . Many beneficiaries are looking for improvement in their access to providers or specific medications, while others complain that they chose coverage based on inaccurate information theyd received. Others cite claims denials for medical services they expected would be covered.

But while there are a variety of reasons a consumer might want to make a leap to new coverage, the options for coverage switches are limited. With that in mind, weve put together a summary of your options for changing your coverage.

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How Do I Find My Medicare Number Australia

You get a Medicare card when you enrol in Medicare. Well usually tell you your Medicare number straight away and send your card in 3 to 4 weeks. Well send it to the address you give us. You can use a digital copy of your Medicare card as soon as you enrol.

Special Enrollment Available For 5

Medicare utilizes a star rating system for Medicare Advantage and Part D Prescription Drug Plans. Each Medicare contract is assigned a rating of one to five stars, with the best contracts receiving five stars. If you live in an area where a 5-star Part D or Advantage plan is available, you can join or switch to the 5-star plan up to once per year, between December 8 and November 30.

In 2021, there are a total of 28 Medicare contracts nationwide that have a 5-star rating. Two are Medicare cost plans, five are stand-alone Part D plans, and the rest are Medicare Advantage plans.

Most plans do not receive five stars, and in most years, most areas of the country do not have 5-star plans available. For 2021, however, theres a UnitedHealthcare contract with a five-star rating, available in most of the US.

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If Youre New To Medicare

Youll have to manually apply for Medicare if:

• You live in Puerto Rico. You may get automatically enrolled in Part A as described above, but youll need to sign up for Part B.
• You arent receiving retirement benefits yet.
• You have end-stage renal disease .

If you have end-stage renal disease , you can apply for Medicare at any time. Otherwise, youre first eligible to enroll during your seven-month Initial Enrollment Period, which typically starts three months before you turn 65, includes the month of your 65th birthday, and ends three months later. When your Medicare coverage begins and when you get your Medicare card depends on the month you sign up during this period.

If you dont enroll in Medicare during your Initial Enrollment Period, in most cases youll have to wait until the General Enrollment Period, which takes place from January to March 31 every year. You may have to pay a late-enrollment penalty for Medicare Part B .

Some people decide to delay Medicare Part B enrollment if they have other coverage, since Part B comes with a premium. If youre working and have health coverage through an employer, you can sign up for Part B with a Special Enrollment Period when you stop working or that coverage ends. You wont have to pay a late enrollment penalty if you sign up during a Special Enrollment Period.

If you worked for a railroad, youd apply for Medicare through the Railroad Retirement Board. Otherwise, youd sign up through Social Security.

Canceling Your Marketplace Plan When You Become Eligible For Medicare

In most cases, if you have a Marketplace plan when you become eligible for Medicare, youll want to end your Marketplace coverage.

IMPORTANT

Don’t end your Marketplace plan until you know for sure when your new coverage starts. Once you end Marketplace coverage, you cant re-enroll until the next annual Open Enrollment Period .

Your Medicare coverage start date depends on your situation.

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When To Sign Up For Medicare Part B

If youre retiring, the best time to enroll in Part B is during your Initial Enrollment Period. For those still working past 65, check with your health administrators whether your employer coverage is creditable.

If it is, you can enroll in Part B when you retire or leave your group health plan. Youll be eligible for a Special Enrollment Period when you can enroll without any penalties. If your group health plan is not considered creditable coverage, then you should register for Part B during your Initial Enrollment Period.

If you missed your Initial Enrollment Period, the next enrollment window you can enroll in Part A and Part B is the General Enrollment Period.

When Can You Sign Up Outside Of The Initial And General Enrollment Periods

You could qualify for a Special Enrollment Period and avoid the penalty for enrolling late. SEPs are typically granted if you or your spouse are still working when you turn 65 and you have group health insurance through an employer or union.

In that case, youre allowed to enroll in Part B at any time you have qualified group health coverage and youve turned 65. Once you no longer have coverage, you can enroll during the eight-month SEP period that starts the month after you lose the job or the coverage, whichever comes first.

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How Do I Get A Replacement Medicare Card

Your Medicare card is proof of your Medicare insurance. If your Medicare card was lost, stolen, or destroyed, you can request a replacement with your personal mySocial Security account.

If you dont already have an account, you can create one online. Go to .

Once you are logged in to your account, select the “Replacement Documents” tab. Then select Mail my replacement Medicare card.

Your Medicare card will arrive in the mail in about 30 days at the address on file with Social Security so be sure to make sure your mailing address is correct before completing the request.

If you need to know your new Medicare number now, you have some options. In your personal mySocial Security account, you can get your Benefit Verification Letter, which includes your Medicare number. You can also visit Medicare.gov and sign in to see your Medicare number and print an official copy of your card. If you dont have a Medicare.gov account, go to Medicare.gov and select Log In/Create Account. Then, follow the instructions.

If you cant or prefer not to use the online service, you can call 1-800-MEDICARE .