A few savvy choices on your part could go a long way.
Millions of seniors today get their health benefits through Medicare. And without the program, many would probably struggle to afford the cost of taking care of themselves.
Because Medicare will likely be with you throughout retirement, it’s important to do what you can to make it work for you. With that in mind, here are three essential Medicare moves you should make so that your senior years are less stressful.
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1. Sign up on time
Your first opportunity to sign up for Medicare spans seven months. It starts three months before the month of your 65th birthday and ends three months after that month.
It pays to enroll in Medicare on time for a few reasons. First, it’s a good way to make sure you have health insurance. It’s not a given that you’ll be working as your 65th birthday approaches, which means you may be winging it without health coverage. The sooner you have Medicare, the more peace of mind you might get by knowing that should you wind up in the hospital or with a series of medical bills, you have insurance that can be billed.
Secondly, if you don’t enroll in Medicare on time, Part B, which covers outpatient care, could cost you more — for life. For each 12-month period you’re eligible for Medicare but don’t sign up, you’re assessed a 10% surcharge on your Part B premiums. That could make the cost of Medicare more expensive throughout your entire retirement.
2. Choose a Medigap plan when you’re first eligible
If you’re signing up for Medicare Advantage as an alternative to original Medicare, you won’t need a Medigap plan — or, more accurately, you can’t have one. But if you’re sticking with original Medicare (Parts A and B, plus a Part D drug plan), it pays to buy Medigap, or supplemental insurance, during your six-month open-enrollment period. A Medigap policy could pick up the tab for many of the costs patients incur under Medicare, like deductibles and coinsurance.
That open-enrollment period begins the first month you have Medicare Part B and are 65 or older. During this time, you can purchase any Medigap policy sold in your state, and you can’t be denied Medigap coverage due to a pre-existing condition.
Beyond that initial six-month window, you may end up paying more for Medigap. And you risk being denied coverage.
3. Review your plan choices every year
Each fall, Medicare enrollees have a chance to make changes to their coverage during open enrollment, which runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. During this time, you can move from one Part D drug plan to another, switch Advantage plans, or dump Medicare Advantage in favor of original Medicare.
Although the process of reviewing your plan choices could take time out of your schedule, switching to a better plan could save you a lot of money on things like premiums and copays. So, it pays to do that research, even if you’re reasonably happy with the coverage you already have. And it especially pays to do that research if your health-related needs have changed.
There’s a strong chance that healthcare will remain a large expense of yours throughout retirement. By making these moves, you can potentially lower the cost of Medicare and, in the case of signing up for Medigap, ease the burden of costly out-of-pocket expenses.