Medicare: Are You Eligible?
Generally, you are eligible for Medicare if are 65 years old and a citizen or legal resident of the United States for at least five consecutive years.
At age 65, you can get Part A without having to pay premiums if:
- You or your spouse paid into Medicare for at least 10 years (40 quarters)
- You receive retirement benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board
- You are eligible to get Social Security or Railroad benefits but have not yet filed for them
- You or your spouse had Medicare-covered government employment
If you are under 65, you can get Part A without having to pay premiums if:
- You have received Social Security or Railroad Retirement disability benefits for 24 months
- You have End-Stage Renal disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplant)
- You have ALS (also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
While you don’t have to pay a premium for Part A if you meet one of these conditions, you must pay for Part B if you want it. It is deducted from your Social Security, Railroad Retirement, or Civil Service Retirement check. If you don’t get any of the above payments, Medicare sends you a bill for your Part B premium every 3 months.
If you work beyond age 65 and continue to carry creditable health insurance your Initial Enrollment Period for Part A remains the same. You may elect to not enroll in Part B at this time if your employer has 20 employees or more.
- When you retire you will have a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) of eight months after loss of insurance coverage to sign up for Part B without penalty.
- If you do not enroll within that window you will pay a Late Enrollment Penalty of 10% for each 12-month period you could have had Part B, but didn’t sign up. In most cases, you’ll have to pay this penalty each time you pay your premiums, for as long as you have Part B.
Click here or call 941/704-6343 to contact a licensed agent.
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent nine organizations which offer 76 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options.