Do I have to pay for Medicare Part B if I don't need it?

This may or may not help the OP.

My spouse has retiree medical benefits which also cover me. We both took early retirement at age 56.

At age 65, our insurance carrier made it mandatory to take Medicare Pt B as the private insurer would become the secondary payor; Medicare would be the primary payor. Ours are Medicare Advantage plans, so we pay BOTH Medicare premiums and the private insurer premiums (it's just the way this insurer bills; other carriers may do it differently).

On the tax returns for that year of turning 65, we had to provide proof of private insurer coverage, which was just a statement letter from the insurer sent automatically to us.

FYI, as we have prescription drug coverage thru our private insurer, we get 2 statements - one from the insurer, one from Medicare - listing total prescription costs, what was covered, what wasn't, etc. These are for our informational purposes only, in case our costs are so high we would want to itemize them.

HTH!
 

Hi. Christopher here. I just turned 66 in July, and I am still employed with medical coverage from my employer. I signed up for Medicare when I turned 65. I do not, and will not, sign up for Part B coverage when I retire as I will use my wife's coverage at a local school district.

My understanding is that you will not be charged a penalty if you sign up for Part B at a later date if you can prove that you had "Credible Coverage" during the period between your ending employer health coverage and signing up for Part B coveage. This term of art means that you were covered by a legitimate health insurance policy during the interim between your ending employer coverage and signing up for Part B. I should save the $170 or so Part B premium until my wife retires in about three years ($6,120 +/-).
 
Christopher said:
Hi. Christopher here. I just turned 66 in July, and I am still employed with medical coverage from my employer. I signed up for Medicare when I turned 65. I do not, and will not, sign up for Part B coverage when I retire as I will use my wife's coverage at a local school district.

My understanding is that you will not be charged a penalty if you sign up for Part B at a later date if you can prove that you had "Credible Coverage" during the period between your ending employer health coverage and signing up for Part B coveage. This term of art means that you were covered by a legitimate health insurance policy during the interim between your ending employer coverage and signing up for Part B. I should save the $170 or so Part B premium until my wife retires in about three years ($6,120 +/-).
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Thank you for sharing your real life experience, and welcome to the forum! (y)
 
For anyone who is still following this thread, I contacted Social Security last week and advised them that I would stay on my hubby's health insurance and would not be enrolling in Medicare Part B. They asked me to send a letter and gave me the address. I sent it the same day. I haven't bought stamps in almost a year, but it was worth it. ;)

BTW, the reason my premiums were so high is because they go back 2 years for income information, so they were looking at my 2020 income. My job was terminated in June 2020, so I was paid my income and whatever bonuses I was owed. My income in 2021 will appear much lower as I will have been fully retired, so I am planning on going on Medicare in 2023.
 
dseag2 said:
For anyone who is still following this thread, I contacted Social Security last week and advised them that I would stay on my hubby's health insurance and would not be enrolling in Medicare Part B. They asked me to send a letter and gave me the address. I sent it the same day. I haven't bought stamps in almost a year, but it was worth it. ;)

BTW, the reason my premiums were so high is because they go back 2 years for income information, so they were looking at my 2020 income. My job was terminated in June 2020, so I was paid my income and whatever bonuses I was owed. My income in 2021 will appear much lower as I will have been fully retired, so I am planning on going on Medicare in 2023.
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Glad you got that settled my friend.
 
Blessed said:
I am just so nervous about changing my own. If I let go of the postal service insurance I have as a widow I can't get it back. I will make sure I have crossed every possible scenario before I make the decision. I can keep it and get my medicare but I would be paying the medicare premiums and my cost of the postal coverage.
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My late mother was the widow of a postal employee (my late Dad) and also had coverage through her retirement from C&S Bank. She never got Medicare Part B, since her primary coverage was through Dad's insurance for the normal Part B coverage. She had to retire at 60 (C&S policy at the time).

After my Dad died in 1998, it became a real hassle, medical billing people did not understand that she didn't need to have Part B some had never seen anyone with such great coverage with the Postal Service insurance and her Aetna coverage.

I would be very thorough investigating what you need.

She had a hotline to an Aetna agent that befriended her, saved thousands of dollars over the years.

The Postal Service insurance at that time was nothing short of phenomenal.
 
MarciKS said:
how does a person even know which medicare plan to get?
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When I was thinking about it, I met a woman while riding a train who worked at a University and handled insurance issues. She told me to get Part B, but avoid Part D (prescription drug coverage), but that was 16 years ago. Things may have changed. I also have AARP supplemental. For what it's worth, I have not paid a cent on Doctor visits or hospital stays since I went on Medicare. I buy my drugs on line from Canada, and that costs me less than prescription coverage would cost.

I had been trying to process all this stuff for a long time, and felt like I had fire engines running through my head. Even getting advice from friends seemed hopeless, because they could never be clear or certain about what to do. They would explain a lot of esoteric contingencies that did nothing but complicate the whole thing more. So I ended up taking the advice of a complete stranger, because I was driving myself nuts. It turned out well... I guess.
 
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JustDave said:
When I was thinking about it, I met a woman while riding a train who worked at a University and handled insurance issues. She told me to get Part B, but avoid Part D (prescription drug coverage), but that was 16 years ago. Things may have changed. I also have AARP supplemental. For what it's worth, I have not paid a cent on Doctor visits or hospital stays since I went on Medicare. I buy my drugs on line from Canada, and that costs me less than prescription coverage would cost.

I had been trying to process all this stuff for a long time, and felt like I had fire engines running through my head. Even getting advice from friends seemed hopeless, because they could never be clear or certain about what to do. They would explain a lot of esoteric contingencies that did nothing but complicate the whole thing more. So I ended up taking the advice of a complete stranger, because I was driving myself nuts. It turned out well... I guess.
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so how do you afford to pay for your meds? mine are too expensive for anything out of pocket.
 
MarciKS said:
how does a person even know which medicare plan to get?
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I think each state has a group that helps people (to find it try to google something like 'medicare questions <name of your state>').

Nebraska's medicare advice group gives a webinar regularly to go over all the details. I attended it twice, once when I was close to 65 and would be starting medicare, and then again before I retired from my job and changed from insurance at work to medicare part B and supplemental etc.

Not sure about other states but in Nebraska also I could have set up an individual appointment to go over all the information, and they also will return calls to give answers to specific questions.
 
MarciKS said:
so how do you afford to pay for your meds? mine are too expensive for anything out of pocket.
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Meds are so cheap when you buy them on line from a Canadian Pharmacy that they are actually affordable. They are about what Americans pay out of pocket as copay, while having to buy insurance to do it. I pay more for groceries than I do for my meds. My question is more about how can you afford to pay for insurance so that you can buy medications at inflated American prices? I could pay for insurance. That's not a big problem. I just don't see why I should pay more for the same service I can get from Canada.

I don't know what drugs you take. Some may not be available on line. That would be a problem, but I have not encountered it.
 
JustDave said:
Meds are so cheap when you buy them on line from a Canadian Pharmacy that they are actually affordable. They are about what Americans pay out of pocket as copay, while having to buy insurance to do it. I pay more for groceries than I do for my meds. My question is more about how can you afford to pay for insurance so that you can buy medications at inflated American prices? I could pay for insurance. That's not a big problem. I just don't see why I should pay more for the same service I can get from Canada.

I don't know what drugs you take. Some may not be available on line. That would be a problem, but I have not encountered it.
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my total health ins. costs me about $140 a mo. through work. My meds are anywhere between $10 & $40 with the ins. Without several run several hundred a month. Just one of my inhaled meds is like $400 without ins. And that's not even the most expensive one. There are a lot of meds not available online. Most of the inhalers are. But anxiety meds & hormone pills...I don't think so.
 
MarciKS said:
my total health ins. costs me about $140 a mo. through work. My meds are anywhere between $10 & $40 with the ins. Without several run several hundred a month. Just one of my inhaled meds is like $400 without ins. And that's not even the most expensive one. There are a lot of meds not available online. Most of the inhalers are. But anxiety meds & hormone pills...I don't think so.
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Try using GoodRX for some of your meds that your insurance won't pay for. (google)
I've used them for some of my hormones. They've knocked off anywhere between $50-$75, sometimes more.

Good luck.
 
Discounts vary for discount coupons. I've found other discount coupons that are cheaper than GoodRX for the same medication. Phone numbers are listed on the websites, and you can call before using the coupon to make sure the prices shown are correct. You can sign up for a card or just print the coupon from the website and bring it to the pharmacy. If you can't print, call the pharmacy and see if they'll take the coupon codes over the phone.

GoodRX > https://www.goodrx.com/

ScriptSave WellRx > https://www.wellrx.com/

RXGO > https://www.rxgo.com/

Discount Drug Network > https://www.discountdrugnetwork.com/

SingleCare > https://www.singlecare.com/

america's pharmacy > https://www.americaspharmacy.com/

Bella ✌️
 
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