How to Register for Medicare
Americans looking forward to retirement have more than golf and travel to look forward to as they approach 65. Getting a long-awaited Medicare card after years of fretting about bad or no coverage can be downright heady. But, if you've talked to seniors of late, you know that the dizzying numbers of options available to new recipients are enough to confuse the savviest applicant.
Instructions
Start the Medicare application process three months before your 65th birthday unless you are already receiving Social Security benefits. If you're already on the Social Security Administration's database, you will automatically be enrolled in Parts A and B.
Learn the terminology. When you apply for coverage, you will automatically be assigned Parts A and B. Plan A covers your hospital stays. Plan B covers doctors and medical services. Part A is the only free coverage you will receive. You will be required to pay for Part B via a monthly premium that can be automatically deducted from your Social Security check. To complicate matters, there is a Part C. This allows a senior to apply for Parts A and B through a private insurer rather than enrolling with Medicare.
Call the Social Security office in your area. Find out if you have the option of applying for Medicare coverage via the Social Security Administration's Medicare website (http://www.medicare.gov) or ask if you must report in person to handle your initial enrollment paperwork.
Bring your Social Security card with you as proof of identification. If your eligibility for Medicare is the result of a disability, you may also be asked to supply names of health providers from whom you're receiving treatment.
Complete all aspects of your basic Medicare enrollment before you begin your foray into Part D coverage. This recently-enacted insurance segment is new (it was legislated in 2006) and complex, but finding the perfect provider for your drug expense coverage gets less complicated once you land on the proper website page.
Enter the Plan D enrollment page on the Medicare website. You will be prompted to list each medication you are currently taking. Part D coverage options is based on your prescription medicine, so it's critical that you include every drug you take. Once you have supplied the names and dosages, the site will release a customized report detailing every company available to you for Rx coverage.
Analyze the list. This is where confusion usually arises. The longer an individual's list of options, the more difficult it can be to isolate one. To eliminate bad choices, review each plan's monthly premium and satisfaction ratings given by participants. Winnow down the list further by eliminating approved pharmacies that are too far away to consider. Once you have selected the plan that's right for you, select it. Enrollment forms will arrive in your mailbox or you may call the provider and enroll by phone.
Consider gap coverage options. Auxiliary to Parts A, B and D, not every medical expense incurred by a cardholder will be covered, so you may wish to add a third plan to your menu. Gap plans are available from many insurers and have relatively small premiums that can make buying gap coverage a bargain. Companies like Humana have tried to simplify the lives of Medicare recipients by combining a gap policy with Part D coverage. This condensation of coverages will likely increase as consumers demand it. Of course if universal health care comes along, this could all be a moot point, but for the moment, let the folks at the Medicare office help guide your coverage selections.