(Newswire.net — April 5, 2019) — Before the age of retirement, you are eligible to apply for Medicare. However, if you are still continuing to work full time with a company that provides medical insurance for you and your family then it may be a good idea to stick with your work’s selected insurance provider until you are no longer eligible to be covered by it anymore. If you are in fact thinking about applying for Medicare while working full time, these are the things that you need to know prior to deciding whether to enroll or wait until retirement.
Medicare While Working Full Time
It is possible to be insured by both Medicare plus your works provider at the same time. Some use the insurance provided by work as primary insurance while using Medicare as a secondary. However, a commonly unknown fact about this is Medicare will only contribute if employer insurance covers less than what Medicare would. Most of the time, insurance through work will pay a majority of a medical bill, leaving Medical to pay nothing and the patient to pay out of pocket.
What Coverage Do You Need?
Medicare is broken up into different sections, Parts A, B, C and D. Original Medicare consists of Part A and B. Medicare Part A is free and covers inpatient care in hospitals and nursing facilities. Part B covers and services or supplies needed to treat medical conditions or illnesses however, in most cases comes with a monthly premium. Parts C and D are Medicare Advantage Plans that are available to those who are also insured with Parts A and B. In short, Part C of Medicare covers most of what the prior parts pay plus vision and dental in most cases. While Part D covers medications, payment is still required via monthly premium as well as copayments for medications.
If your current medical insurance provider covers more than Part A or B of Medicare, then it would be a better choice to wait until you retire to enroll in Medicare. This way you are able to avoid an additional monthly premium for much less coverage than your employers’ insurance provider.
Are You Covered Through Your Spouse?
If your spouse is not retired yet and has health insurance provided by their employer which covers both of you, you are able to delay your application for Medicare until their employer medical insurance coverage is no longer available to you.
Some insurances that employers use may not cover spouses, which in that case, you will need to apply for Medicare regardless if your spouse is working still or not.
Many circumstances can occur approaching the time of retirement regarding your medical insurance coverage. If you are retiring and in need of insurance, choose to continue working through retirement or have a spouse who is still working while you retire, consider speaking to a Medicare specialist or your employers chosen insurance provider to determine what are the best options for you when it comes to Medicare coverage while working full time or not.