Medicare Eligibility

Yes. You may qualify for Medicare under 65 if you have a permanent disability and have received Social Security disability income for two years, if you have End-Stage Renal Disease (kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant), or if you have ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

We'll talk about the eligibility criteria for each part of Medicare and supplemental insurance below.

You're eligible for premium-free Part A when you turn 65 if you or your spouse worked at least ten years in the U.S. and paid Medicare taxes. If not, you can contact Social Security to buy Part A.

If you're already receiving Social Security benefits at least 4 months before you turn 65, you'll be automatically enrolled in both Part A and Part B, no application needed. Your Medicare card normally arrives in the mail about four to six weeks before you turn 65.

You're eligible for Part B when you turn 65, though it comes with a monthly premium. If you're still working at 65 or older and your employer plan covers 20 or more employees, you can wait to enroll in Part B without facing a penalty.

If your employer has fewer than 20 employees, check with your HR or benefits administrator to confirm whether your coverage counts as creditable with Medicare. Without that confirmation, you could still face the Part B late enrollment penalty even though you have employer coverage. If you delay Part B enrollment, contact an agent at Simple Retirement Benefits. We'll go over the special enrollment periods for you to use later to avoid a late enrollment penalty.

You're eligible for Part C if you're enrolled in both Part A and Part B and you live in the plan's service area, based on the address Social Security keeps on file for you. If you drop Part B, you cannot enroll in Part C.

Medicare Advantage plans are approved county by county, so your county of residence determines which plans you can enroll in. Some plans include network access or benefits you can use across the state or the country after you enroll, but that's a feature of the plan itself; your eligibility to enroll always comes down to the county where you live.

You can sign up for a Part D drug plan if you're enrolled in either Medicare Part A or Part B, or both, and you're in the plan's service area.

Important note. If you don't sign up for Part D and you have no other creditable coverage, you may face late penalties when you register at a later time.

You can apply for a Medigap or Medicare Supplement plan before you even have your Medicare number. Some Medicare Supplement carriers accept applications up to six months ahead of your planned enrollment date, while Medicare Advantage and Part D applications do require a Medicare number.

Your Medigap benefits get added to your Original Medicare coverage, since it doesn't pay for everything. Remember: you can't have a Medicare Advantage plan and a Medigap policy at the same time. In some states, insurers may sell Medigap plans to folks under 65, although they're not legally required to do this.