Insurance and Medicare

Generally, you are eligible for Medicare if you or your spouse worked for at least 10 years in Medicare-covered employment and you are 65 years old and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. You might also qualify for coverage if you are a younger person with a disability or with permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplant.

You can get Part A at age 65 without having to pay premiums if you are already receiving retirement benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board and you or your spouse had Medicare-covered government employment.

If you are under 65, you can get Part A (hospital insurance) without having to pay premiums if you have received Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board disability benefit for 24 months. Most people get Part A automatically when they turn age 65.

Part B (Medical Insurance) is optional. It helps pay for doctors, services, outpatient hospital care, and some other medical services that Part A does not cover, such as the services of physical and occupational therapists, and some home health care. Part B helps pay for these covered services and supplies when they are medically necessary.

The Medicare Part B premium is $78.20 per month in 2005. In some cases this amount may be higher if you did not choose Part B when you first became eligible at age 65. The cost of Part B may go up 10 percent for each 12-month period that you could have had Part B but did not sign up for it, except in special cases.

You can sign up for Part B anytime during a 7-month period that begins 3 months before you turn 65. If you choose to have Part B, the premium is usually taken out of your monthly Social Security, Railroad Retirement, or Civil Service Retirement payment. If you do not get any of the above payments, Medicare sends you a bill for your part B premium every 3 months.

If you have questions about your eligibility for Medicare Part A or Part B, or if you want to apply for Medicare, call the Social Security Administration. The toll-free telephone number is: 1-800-772-1213. The TTY-TDD number for the hearing and speech impaired is 1-800-325-0778. You can also get information about buying Part A as well as part B if you do not qualify for premium-free part A.

Source: Social Security Administration/Medicare