Should You Apply for Medicare If You’re Working?

If you’re still working when you turn 65 and want to put off signing up for Medicare, it’s critical to grasp the meaning of trustworthy coverage.

“The first point to make is that continuing to work is insufficient.

“You must still be working and have insurance as a result of your work, or your spouse must be working and have insurance as a result of their work,” says Casey Schwarz, senior counsel, Education and Federal Policy at MedicareRights.org.

“In their retirement, we’ve heard from people who went part-time or took a job unrelated to their career throughout their working life.”

So they work and get insurance, but it is a retirement or a COBRA policy based on previous work unrelated to their current position.” So, suppose you’re covered by a retirement or COBRA policy. In that case, you must file for Medicare as soon as you’re eligible to prevent late fees or being denied certain types of coverage, such as Medigap policies.

Do You Qualify for a Medicare Savings Program?

Medicare Savings Programs may provide financial support to low-income seniors and persons with disabilities to help pay for health care. Unfortunately, only half of those eligible for one of these programs, which help pay Medicare premiums and deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments, are enrolled.

You can check the Medicare website to see if you are qualified for this assistance. “People are leaving a few thousand dollars on the table,” says Shub Debgupta, founder and CEO of Predict Health, a health care analytics company, because these Medicare Savings Programs are confusing and have an expiration date.

“You lose it if you don’t refile in time” (the Medicare Savings Program).

You’re doing well until your drug assistance program runs out.

That’s a significant issue, and it’s the leading cause of individuals falling out of plans; it becomes too expensive at that point.”

How to Change Your Medicare Plan

Once you’ve joined a plan during your initial enrollment period, you’ll be able to transfer plans once a year during the open enrollment period, which runs from October 15 to December 7. You can also switch from original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan at this time and join, switch, or quit your Medicare drug plan. Every year, the Medicare Advantage open enrollment period runs from January 1 to March 31. You can either switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another or return to basic Medicare with a different Medicare drug plan.