If you are approaching retirement age, you may be wondering, ‘who is eligible for Medicare?’
Well, at Heritage First, we can help provide the answers to questions just like these.
Who Is Eligible For Medicare?
The usual requirement that most people meet to qualify for Medicare is turning age 65. You can qualify for Medicare before age 65, but you must have a qualifying disability. In order to qualify for Medicare based on a disability, you must have collected Social Security disability benefits for at least 24 months.
If you have been diagnosed with End-Stage Renal Disease or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, you may be able to bypass the 24-month requirement. People diagnosed with End-Stage Renal disease can usually enroll in Medicare after a few months of dialysis, while people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis are eligible to enroll just a month or so after they begin collecting disability benefits.
How To Enroll In Medicare
If you are eligible for Medicare, the next step is to enroll. If you want to enroll, you will need to head over to the medicare.gov website and submit an application. You can also apply in person if you head to a local Social Security office.
You can only enroll during certain periods of the year, called enrollment periods. The most commonly used enrollment period is the Initial Enrollment Period, which begins three months before your 65th birthday and ends three months after turning 65. The period lasts a total of 7 months, giving you plenty of time to enroll in Medicare if you need to.
Do I Always Have To Enroll?
Some people don’t have to enroll to receive Medicare benefits. If you have been receiving Social Security benefits for at least four months before you turn 65, you will be enrolled in Medicare automatically. If you’ve paid enough Medicare taxes at this point, you may be eligible for premium-free Part A as well. To find out more about this, give one of our agents a call.
Medicare Contact
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Start The Medicare Enrollment Process Now
If you will be eligible for Medicare soon, you don’t want to miss your Initial Enrollment Period. Enrolling too late can cause you to incur a late enrollment penalty, which could become very costly in the long run. To help ensure your Medicare benefits are cost-effective, speak with a Heritage First agent today. You can reach us at 816-931-0375.
Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program. Insurance products are offered through the insurance business Heritage First. Heritage First is also an Investment Advisory practice that offers products and services through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM), a Registered Investment Adviser. The AEWM does not offer insurance products. The insurance products offered by Heritage First are not subject to Investment Advisor requirements. AEWM and Heritage First are not affiliated companies.
Any and all other services related to Medicare are an outside business activity and are not offered through or supervised by AE Wealth Management, LLC.
