Medicare is a federal program which allows an insured to get healthcare benefits without having to worry about the huge cost of treatments at the time of their needs. Therefore, knowing about enrolling in medicare is an essential piece of information that one knows how to do. Learning about Medicare in detail can be cumbersome. So, here’s a brief overview of what Medicare is, why it’s important and how one can apply.
Enrolling in Medicare: Everything You Need to Know
Medicare has four parts:
PART A – This part is the hospital portion of your Medicare coverage. It covers bill payments related to hospital visits, nursing facilities, and end-of-life care.
PART B – This part covers the medical portion of your care. It involves outpatient care such as doctor’s visits and physical therapy. Medical equipment and home health care facilities are also available under Part B.
Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B are together known as the “Original Medicare.”
PART C – This Part includes all the benefits of the Original Medicare but the coverage is provided by private insurance companies instead of Medicare. This option is also known as a Medicare Advantage Plan and can include benefits related to dental, vision and prescription drug coverage.
PART D – Medicare prescription drug plan or Part D, is an optional drug plan created by the United States federal government to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for self-administered prescription drugs. These plans are standardized and available through private insurance companies such as Aetna, Humana, United Health Care and many others.
How to Sign Up?
If you are already receiving Social Security benefits, the enrolment happens automatically, otherwise, you can sign up online, over the phone or in person at the Social Security office.
Apply for Medicare Online
Medicare isn’t nearly as complicated as many people perceive it to be. If you apply online, you can get everything done in a short span of time. According to the Social Security Administration, online enrolment takes less than 10 minutes. So don’t get intimidated.
- Simply visit https://www.ssa.gov/medicare and fill in your details.
- Enter information about yourself like your name and address. Here, you also need to answer some questions regarding your health benefits such as any additional health insurance you have and any group health plans in which you are a member.
- You may be required to provide some additional documents if you are not a U.S citizen, if you are applying under your spouse’s work record or if you are above 65 and switching from your employer’s health coverage.
Apply by Phone
To apply for Medicare by phone, call at 1-800-772-1213 from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm and schedule an appointment for a telephonic interview at a time that suits you best.
Applying in Person
Finally, you can apply for Medicare in person. You can enroll at the Social Security office. This is a good option if your 65th birthday is approaching and you need to get your application in as soon as possible.
What happens after I enroll?
After you enroll into Original Medicare, we recommend speaking with a local licensed insurance agent by calling 210-908-6565 to discuss all of your options.
Get a new lease of life. Apply for Medicare Now.
