Medicare Eligibility

[Mack]

If you are age 65 or older you quality for Medicare if you are a U.S. citizen or a permanent legal resident AND you or your spouse worked long enough to qualify for Social Security or railroad retirement benefits.

You can also qualify if you have NOT paid into Social Security if you are age 65 or older AND you or your spouse has has paid Medicare payroll taxes when working.

 

[Mack]

Medicare for those under 65

If you are under 65 you qualify for Medicare if you have received Social Security disability for 24 months.

In addition those who receive a disability pension from the railroad retirement board and meet certain other conditions are eligible.

You also qualify it you have permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant and you or your spouse has paid Social Security tax for the required term, depending on your age.

The the above is only a brief overview, there are other circumstances which allow people under 65 to qualify for Medicare.

 

[lpittman1]

RE: Medicare for those under 65

If you are under 65 you qualify for Medicare if you have received Social Security disability for 24 months.

In addition those who receive a disability pension from the railroad retirement board and meet certain other conditions are eligible.

You also qualify it you have permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant and you or your spouse has paid Social Security tax for the required term, depending on your age.

The the above is only a brief overview, there are other circumstances which allow people under 65 to qualify for Medicare.

The above statement about eligibility of those under 65 and have received SSA Disability for 24 months may be misleading. I have a situation which is a bit muddled. Disabled for a while, receiving Part A since. Have decent but very expensive coverage from the Post Office. Turning 65 this September and had intended to go with Medicare. However, my spouse, who had turned down Part B when she went on disability, was told today that since I was already retired (not working) she could not reapply until Jan 2014, the year that she turns 65 and then pay a 30% penalty. I have heard of the penalty but didn't think it applied to her, but the real killer here is that she cannot receive Medicare until November of 2014. I would leave my spouse with no coverage if I dropped my insurance coverage to go with medicare.
Can anyone verify this for me to ease my mind? I assume the SSA person was correct, but I cannot for the world of me figure what my working or not working would have to do with the decision. Appreciate anything you guys can tell me.

 

[mattspits]

RE: Medicare for those under 65

Pittman,

You are allowed to decline Part B without a penalty if you have group coverage from your current employer. If your spouse is covered by the same group insurance than the same should apply to her as well. The key there is the CURRENT employer part. Once you stop working you are expected to pick up Part B; if you don't you will be assessed a penalty of 10% per year that you could have enrolled, but did not. Also, you may only pick up Part B during the election period which is Jan - March, and your Part B would become effective on July 1 of that year. Also, you may pick up Part B when you turn 65 as you are aware. So, in your wife's case she could apply in Jan and her coverage would start in July. Keep in mind that Medicare does not cover everything and that you will want to have some other type of coverage in effect along with it if you decide to drop your group coverage. For more info check out my blog post on Medicare enrollment periods.

If you are under 65 you qualify for Medicare if you have received Social Security disability for 24 months.

In addition those who receive a disability pension from the railroad retirement board and meet certain other conditions are eligible.

You also qualify it you have permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant and you or your spouse has paid Social Security tax for the required term, depending on your age.

The the above is only a brief overview, there are other circumstances which allow people under 65 to qualify for Medicare.

The above statement about eligibility of those under 65 and have received SSA Disability for 24 months may be misleading. I have a situation which is a bit muddled. Disabled for a while, receiving Part A since. Have decent but very expensive coverage from the Post Office. Turning 65 this September and had intended to go with Medicare. However, my spouse, who had turned down Part B when she went on disability, was told today that since I was already retired (not working) she could not reapply until Jan 2014, the year that she turns 65 and then pay a 30% penalty. I have heard of the penalty but didn't think it applied to her, but the real killer here is that she cannot receive Medicare until November of 2014. I would leave my spouse with no coverage if I dropped my insurance coverage to go with medicare.
Can anyone verify this for me to ease my mind? I assume the SSA person was correct, but I cannot for the world of me figure what my working or not working would have to do with the decision. Appreciate anything you guys can tell me.