Getting Started With Medicare

Know when you are eligible for Medicare.

• If you don’t enroll within the window of your initial enrollment period, you may miss an opportunity to add coverage and may have to pay a late enrollment penalty down the road.

Info to have when looking at plan options:

• Your doctors names, dosages for medications, and other helpful info related to your health.
• You want to check to make sure that your doctors will accept your coverage choice, that your medications are covered, and you understand the costs.
• Do you have any chronic conditions or are you currently undergoing treatment for anything?
• Your future insurability is an important consideration when you are new to Medicare. You have the right to select any plan that you want, regardless of your health, when you first enroll. It is important to consider both your current situation and what would be important to you down the road if you are navigating health conditions. Switching certain plans in the future may require underwriting, pre-existing condition exclusions or becoming uninsurable could limit your options.
• How much did you spend on healthcare last year?
• When considering your annual costs which are a combination of out-of-pocket costs and premiums, you might find certain plan types are more suitable than others based on your individual usage of healthcare services.

Resources:

There are many websites out there offering information on Medicare. For the most accurate and unbiased information, it is best to use government-sponsored sites and resources. Insurance companies often focus on plan-specific information and advertisements.

You may find the following government resources helpful:

• Medicare.gov
• Medicare & You
• SSA.gov
• CMS.gov
• MyMedicare.gov
• SSA Publication: Medicare