Can I Sign Up for Medicare Easy Pay Online

Just the Essentials...

• There are two ways to sign up for Medicare Easy Pay: use your online account with Medicare's secure site, or print and mail a short form to send by mail.

• A few programs make up Medicare. Specifically, Medicare Part A is hospital insurance, B is medical insurance, C is Medicare Advantage, and D is prescription drugs.

• You can delay signing up for Medicare due to health coverage through a current or former employer. In these situations, no late enrollment penalty builds up. When that coverage ends, Medicare grants an 8-month enrollment period for Part B.

Medicare Easy Pay is a means for persons without Social Security income to automatically deduct Medicare premiums from their bank account.

While usually associated with senior citizens, certain persons under age 65 are also eligible.

Find Medicare coverage today or plan ahead by comparing quotes at no cost using our helpful quoting tool!

Eligibility for Medicare means eligibility for Easy Pay

Medicare beneficiaries must be at least one of the following:

• An American citizen or permanent U.S. resident of age 65

• Eligible for Railroad Retirement or Social Security benefits, even if not drawing them

• Claiming Medicare eligibility using a spouse's employment history, and that spouse must be at least 62 years of age

• Retired from government employment or a public institution

• Living with permanent disability, ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) or End Stage Renal Disease

Payment for Parts of Medicare

Part A)  Hospital Insurance

Citizens age 65 and above can get premium-free Medicare hospital insurance based on their employment history or that of their spouse. Otherwise, Part A requires a premium.

Part B) Medical Insurance

Monthly premium amount payments for Part B are mandatory, regardless of work history.

Part C) Medicare Advantage plans

The Center for Medicare Services (CMS) approves private Part C plans, equally well known as Medicare Advantage. In all cases, those wishing to join must be enrolled in both Parts A & B. Some Part C plans require monthly payment, but others have zero premium.

Part D) Medicare Prescription Drug Insurance

After CMS approval, private insurance companies also offer Medicare prescription drug plans. Part D devotes itself only to covering prescription drugs, and these plans usually require a premium. However, Medicare Advantage plans often build in Part D coverage and can require zero monthly premium.

Unsure whether to get Medicare prescription coverage through a stand-alone Part D plan, or through an all-in-one Medicare Advantage plan? Try our helpful quoting tool to find the top plans in your area to meet your needs.

How does Medicare combine with health insurance?

Medicare Parts A & B cannot cancel out your private health coverage.

Rather, Medicare works together with COBRA coverage, or retirement group coverage.

In other words, this means that medical expenses are paid for by two payers, or insurances, so establishing the order of payment is important.

If the employer has less than 20 employees, then the group plan pays first, and Medicare pays second. If the employer has 20 or more employees, then Medicare pays first, and the group plan pays second.

In particular, one combination affects many beneficiaries who still receive employer group coverage.

These persons may delay Part B, but begin premium-free Part A when first eligible while keeping employer health insurance.

The importance of registering in Medicare Parts A & B

Registration in Medicare Parts A & B opens the door for eligibility to get health plans sold by  private insurance health carriers.

To get Parts A and B, an initial enrollment period commences three full months before turning 65, includes the birthday month, and ends 3 full months after the birthday month. The same sign-up window applies surrounding the 24th month of receiving Social Security disability benefits.

In fact, having Original Medicare (both Parts A and B) is mandatory in order to get:

• Stand-alone Part D prescription drug policies
• Part C Medicare Advantage plans
• Medigap supplemental plans

If you register in Medicare Part A only, you will just access hospitalization coverage. Any medical charges could be left to you, entirely out of pocket.

Likewise, if enrolled in Part B only, you would only have medical coverage. A hospital stay can quickly become very expensive, so lacking hospitalization coverage poses a large risk.

Withholding Medicare registration due to employer coverage

Citizens under an employer group medical plan may opt to sign up later for Medicare Parts A & B.

Some people in this situation sign up for either Part B or premium-free Part A only.

If you have to pay a premium for Part A, and you sign up, then you must also sign up and pay for Part B.

At the time that employment ends, or employer coverage ends, delaying Part A or B registration up to that point means:

• An 8-month enrollment period to sign up for Medicare Part B
• No late penalty fee applies during this 8-month enrollment window
• You can also sign up for Medicare Advantage, or a Part D policy for prescription drugs

Does the General Election Period affect Medicare premiums?

Eligible citizens who missed their initial enrollment period likely have to wait to enroll until the next General Election Period (GEP).

If a person missed their initial enrollment period, sign-up for Medicare Part A and/or B from January 1st to March 31st will mean coverage begins July 1st. The delayed time between this GEP and the actual coverage start date of July 1st could mean a late penalty fee.

There are different lengths of time before a late enrollment penalty applies:

• For Part A and Part B, the penalty is determined by how many full years you went without hospital and medical coverage while you were eligible to sign up
• For Part D, the penalty is calculated by how many full months you went without drug coverage while eligible

Some people have their IEP during the same time of year as the general election period.

For them, no late penalty applies and coverage begins the month of their 65th birthday, or shortly after if delaying sign-up until the later months of their initial enrollment period.

Enrolling in Medicare

For registration of Medicare coverage, visit a Social Security Administration office in your local area or call Social Security's toll-free number.

When visiting the local SSA office, carry the relevant paperwork to present during your appointment.

Those instead wishing to register online can do so conveniently at no cost.

Log in or create a Social Security account on the secure SSA website to enroll in Medicare.

Although Social Security and Medicare services are often related, be sure to contact the right one for your situation:

• Social Security handles income benefits, enrollment in Medicare, and replacing Medicare cards
• Medicare handles claims, bill from Medicare, and appeals

Pay your Medicare premiums using Easy Pay

To pay for Medicare coverage, recipients of monthly income benefits from Social Security or Railroad Retirement can have their Medicare premiums deducted automatically from that income benefit.

Otherwise, Part B premium amount payments can automatically deduct from your bank through CMS Medicare's Easy Pay service, an e-payment alternative for Medicare premiums to be drawn from your bank account.

Automatic deduction for Medicare premiums means eliminating the risk of missed payments, which could cause coverage to unexpectedly end.

To set up CMS Medicare Easy Pay, either:

• Online, by logging in or creating a secure Medicare account, then selecting "My Premiums" followed by "Sign Up"
• By mail, after printing and filling out a short form

When setting up Easy Pay by mail, it can take up to two months for automatic deductions to start.

To be sure, you can mail your initial payment at the time of enrollment, or you can go to your online Medicare account and make a one-time payment.

Medicare will send you a monthly paper statement to let you know whether your Easy Pay payment has gone through and gives instructions if anything else needs to be done.

If managing payments on your own is preferable, remember to submit your monthly Medicare payment before the due date to avoid cancellation of your coverage.

Typically, premiums are automatically withdrawn on the 20th of each month.

Medicare upholds a monthly due date on the 25th for those who keep track of premium payments on their own.

References:

1. https://www.cms.gov/sf5510-authorization-agreement-preauthorized-payments
2. https://www.rrb.gov/
3. https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-a-costs/part-a-costs.html
4. https://www.medicare.gov/supplements-other-insurance/how-medicare-works-with-other-insurance
5. https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-a-costs/part-a-late-enrollment-penalty
6. https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-b-costs/part-b-late-enrollment-penalty
7. https://www.medicare.gov/drug-coverage-part-d/costs-for-medicare-drug-coverage/part-d-late-enrollment-penalty
8. https://secure.ssa.gov/iClaim/rib
9. https://www.ssa.gov/
10. https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/ways-to-pay-part-a-part-b-premiums/medicare-easy-pay

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Source: https://www.medicareinsurance.com/how-to-register-for-medicare-easy-pay/

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