Americans who retire or are fired after age 65 with group benefits from the employer applying for Medicare Parts A and B must show that they have “credible” prescription drug coverage when applying for their new Medicare Part D.
If you bring the “Application for Employment Information” form to Social Security to avoid the “famous” Medicare Part B sanction, Medicare is informed that you have had benefits for the employer since the age of 65. years. The form does not tell Medicare that you had “credible” prescription drug coverage.
The letter you received from the new Medicare Part D prescription drug plan you signed up for explains what you need to do to tell Medicare what prescription drug coverage you had by calling 800 or having a form which describes what type of coverage you had. you can return by email to the Medicare Part D plan you signed up for.
Because the United States is overloaded with marketing material when enrolling in Medicare, many do not open important mail and understand the importance of notifying the Medicare Part D specific plan about what type of prescription drug coverage is going. receive upon abandoning the benefits of the employer.
The Medicare & You handbook reads: “Creditable prescription drug coverage could include drug coverage from a current or former employer or union, TRICARE, Indian Health Service, VA, or health insurance coverage. you must say each year if your drug coverage is “creditable coverage.” This information can be sent to you in a letter or included in a plan newsletter. Keep this information because you may need it if you join a plan late. Medicare Drugs “.
The manual does NOT indicate what the credible coverage is. Creditable drug coverage should “meet or exceed” Medicare Part D plan minimums for the current year.
Puzzling, I know … Medicare doesn’t consider prescription drug discount cards or low-cost generic programs as “credible coverage.” Such plans cannot prevent you from being penalized for late enrollment.
Your Late Enrollment Period (LEP) does not begin on the day you lose or leave your business health plan, BUT from the month Medicare Part A begins and not Part B.
This penalty for LEP (late enrollment period) may be because:
- You waited more than 63 days without credible prescription drug coverage when you left company benefits and are over 65 years and 90 days old. Don’t wait more than 63 days to get Part D when you get out of the company’s health plans.
- Your company’s prescription drug benefits (not health benefits) are not credible, as Medicare states.
- You simply never enrolled in Medicare Part D when you were first eligible and want to enroll.
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