How To Qualify For Medicare As A Senior

Good health is a valuable asset a man can possess; therefore it is necessary that you take good care of your health. Maintaining a healthy body requires care and attention. Healthy diet along with ample physical activities is the secret to good health. It is also important to get health insurance done that would help you in difficult situations. Getting yourself enrolled for Medicare is a great way to keep yourself insured. Before you can enroll, you must know how to qualify for Medicare as a senior.

If you are going to be of 65 years or have already reached that age, you are eligible to get yourself enrolled for Medicare. There are some cases where you become eligible for the health insurance scheme. Before you know how to go about the whole process, you should know about the major parts of Medicare.

Medicare Parts

Part A – Hospital Insurance: It covers home health care, hospice care, skilled nursing facility care, and inpatient hospital care.

Part B – Medical Insurance: It covers home health care, outpatient care, doctors and other health care providers’ services, prevention services like wellness checkups, vaccines, shots, and screenings, and availability of medical equipment including walkers and wheelchairs.

Part C – Medicare Advantage: It is a plan approved by Medicare offered by private companies that serves as an alternative measure to the original Medicare plan. It is a bundle offer of three parts of Medicare i.e. Parts A, B, and D (details below).

Part D – Drug Coverage: It covers the costs related to drugs prescribed by your doctor or health care professional. It includes most of the vaccines and shots recommended by the health experts.

Now that you are aware of the different parts of the medical health insurance, you would be eager to know how much it would cost you. Let us discuss the same in parts.

Part A Costs – If you have paid Medicare taxes for 10 years or more, you would not need to pay a single dollar. You are qualified to get free service you have Social Security benefits due to disability or retirement. It is worth noting that you had taken the insurance before reaching the age of 65 years. If your current or previous spouse paid for the taxes for about 10 years or so, then also you are exempt from paying any premium. If you are not sure whether you paid your taxes for 10 or more years, you would simply have to ask your employer. Another way to know about it is to check your W2S from the time you have been filing your taxes. You can also register for an account on the official website and find out if you have made payments enough to be eligible for Medicare facilities. If you are not being paid for your treatment yet, you would have to pay $1600 each time when you are admitted to any hospital.

Part B Costs – The costs that you would have to pay for the premium even if you do not avail any services covered under Part B. The premium cost starts off with $164.90 monthly and goes on higher depending upon how much you earn. The premium amount is to be paid monthly and there might be increments annually. When you turn 65 years of age and still do not enroll Medicare, you might have to pay penalty. You do not necessarily have to enroll just when you are nearing the age of 65 years but you can do so well before time. Talking about penalty, if you could have signed up for Part B of health insurance but did not do so, you will have to pay 10% extra annually which will be added to the monthly premium you would pay for the same part. You should not have the wrong impression that you would have to pay the penalty amount for a single time but you have to keep paying the same. If you are qualified for Special Enrolment Period, you would be exempted from paying any penalty. If you are wondering who qualifies for Special Enrolment Period, you should know that it covers people that are still working or their spouse are still working and either of you have health coverage.

Part C Costs – Based on the plan that you join, the monthly premium will be decided based on that and the amount is not fixed i.e. it can be changed with each passing year. If you have enrolled for a plan and want to stay in the same, you must pay for your Part B plan.

Part D Costs – The monthly premium amount would depend on the plan that you join. Here too the amount will change with the passing years. If you earn a higher income, the premium will become higher too. When you get your first Medicare and do not join a drug plan, you might end up paying a penalty. If you could have enrolled for Part D but did not do the same, you will have to pay 1% extra monthly for the same. The penalty amount will be added to your monthly premium amount.

If you are looking to get yourself enrolled for Medicare, you should seek the help of someone that knows. Most people do not know how to go about the process of applying for the health insurance. As you have read through this page, you must have understood how important it is to get yourself enrolled for the same on time. When you get timely service, you would be able to avoid paying penalties and fees. It is not a good idea to ignore till it is very late. If you are looking to get Medicare benefits during your senior age, you should take action while you are still young and eligible. Make sure to check out the available health and drug plans and read in details about them. When you have complete details of all the plans, you would be able to make the prudent decision for yourself.