I Signed Up for Medicare A & B Today, Excellent Experience

[ShokWaveRider]

I had previously made an appointment at our local SS/M Office for 11am today. I arrived at 10:55 signed in electronically 3 Minutes, then at 11:05 was called to the window.

The lady "Caroline" was quite talkative and confirmed all my data (It was already in the system), she asked for my ID and after about 5 mins of chit chat, I was out of there.

BTW, when I arrived the waiting room was full to the point I had to stand and wait a whole 7 minutes. .

One thing I did notice is when I got back home, I went to SS.gov (or whatever the site is) and it would not give me my SS estimates. It said I needed to go to my local office for them. That seemed odd. But I suppose it does not know that I only applied for Medicare and not SS.

 

[travelover]

I had previously made an appointment at our local SS/M Office for 11am today. I arrived at 10:55 signed in electronically 3 Minutes, then at 11:05 was called to the window.

The lady "Caroline" was quite talkative and confirmed all my data (It was already in the system), she asked for my ID and after about 5 mins of chit chat, I was out of there.

BTW, when I arrived the waiting room was full to the point I had to stand and wait a whole 7 minutes. .

One thing I did notice is when I got back home, I went to SS.gov (or whatever the site is) and it would not give me my SS estimates. It said I needed to go to my local office for them. That seemed odd. But I suppose it does not know that I only applied for Medicare and not SS.

Glad you had a good experience. I just did it all on line - both SS and Medicare.

 

[NYEXPAT]

Out of the country, so just have to call and do it over the phone.

 

[Midpack]

Glad to hear it, I’ll be signing up next Feb.

 

[donheff]

DW did it all on the website with no problems.

 

[W2R]

DW did it all on the website with no problems.

That's how I did it, too, back in 2013. Even though I didn't have SS when I applied, it was easy and I was quite impressed!

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Anyone have any idea why I now cannot get my SS estimate from the SSA government web site? It was fine before I applied for Medicare.

 

[W2R]

Anyone have any idea why I now cannot get my SS estimate from the SSA government web site? It was fine before I applied for Medicare.

At some point, you just can't. I don't remember when. I do know that while I was on divorced spousal SS and Medicare, I wasn't getting my yearly SS estimate based on my own earnings record.

You can still find out how much you will likely get when you claim SS, by using their calculators and values from your last annual SS estimate. That's what I did, and when I switched to SS based on my own earnings record, it was correct to the dollar. What a relief THAT was.

 

[gcgang]

Anyone have any idea why I now cannot get my SS estimate from the SSA government web site? It was fine before I applied for Medicare.

To stave off the implosion of SS, they gotta make some cuts. Looks like you are it.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

To stave off the implosion of SS, they gotta make some cuts. Looks like you are it.

Ho Ho Ho #$%^&@# Ho.

 

[drb391]

wow. maybe bc I was already collecting SS, but I got a letter ~6mo before 65th saying I would be automagically be enrolled in Part A and also Part B unless I sent in request not to. I didn't have to call, sign up, or anything else

 

[ShokWaveRider]

wow. maybe bc I was already collecting SS, but I got a letter ~6mo before 65th saying I would be automagically be enrolled in Part A and also Part B unless I sent in request not to. I didn't have to call, sign up, or anything else

Yes that is true. If you get SS you automatically get signed up for Medicare. I do not want to take SS yet. So I needed to apply.

 

[W2R]

Yes that is true. If you get SS you automatically get signed up for Medicare. I do not want to take SS yet. So I needed to apply.

I didn't have SS either, when I signed up for Medicare. So, they couldn't deduct the Part B monthly cost from my SS yet. Instead, I needed to get my Part B premium automatically deducted from my checking account (which was my choice of several payment methods offered). The first month or two, I had to send them a check in the mail until they could get the automatic deduction set up..

It's been five years and I am a little fuzzy about what the online forms involved, but I'm sure the automatic checking account deduction was in there somewhere. Anyway, it was easy to do.

 

[SumDay]

I signed DH up online - the card showed up right before he was eligible. It's deducted from our checking account each month - but it took about a quarter for that to kick in.


I'm SO jealous - I have a few years to go. So far, along with Part G and D, we've had very little OOP, other than premiums.

You'll love it!

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Hmmm. I was never asked how I would like to pay.

 

[W2R]

Hmmm. I was never asked how I would like to pay.

Probably I'm having a "senior moment" about it.... I am pretty sure it's not the onset of dementia. Frank and I both DO forget details of things quite a bit lately. I probably shouldn't have posted.

I definitely do remember feeling relieved that I did not have to go to the SS office, though! I have never been there even once, and that is fine with me.

 

[Telly]

Hmmm. I was never asked how I would like to pay.

No, you won't be asked as part of the signup procedure.

Later, Medicare will send you a bill in the mail for payment of your first 3 months. The bill lists four ways to pay your bill:
- Pay online at your bank's website.
- Sign up for Medicare Easy Pay.
- Make a check or money order payable to "CMS Medicare Insurance".
- Use Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover.

I signed up online for Medicare early in the morning of the first day I could signup, 3 months before my birthday month. I got the bill in the mail 2 months and 9 days later. With a payment due date of the 25th of that month, which was 15 days after I received the bill in the mail.

I paid it using a one-time payment online from my bank. The bill gives you all the ID info that you will need to put into your bank's website to do this.

Longer term, I am going to get the "Medicare Easy Pay" up and running, where they automatically deduct it from my bank. The Medicare website has the form and procedure, search for "Easy Pay". Soon, I will download the form SF-5510, fill it in, and mail it to the address they list. They say on the website: "We’ll process your form once we get it. Sometimes this can take 6-8 weeks." I think I'll wait until we get into the first week of November before doing this.

When this is complete, all Medicare-related premiums I have will be automatic - Medicare Part B, Medigap(supplement) Plan, Part D drug Plan.

We'll still monitor the bank, to see that nothing goes awry with any of them. But it removes from me/us the need to always keep up with the premiums.

Although we have never really liked the idea of payments being automatically deducted, in the last year I have had a push on to do so for all recurring payments. My concern is something could happen to one/both of us, and it would go into arrears without our periodic attention.
One of the online insurance agents, the one in South Carolina, I can't remember the name, has a youtube video of how one of his clients came close to losing her Medigap plan. she was in the hospital for months in bad shape, nobody that could have stepped in for her knew, and it came down to the wire.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Thanks Telly. What I will do is set up 4 payments automatically with the Credit Union to happen on XyZ dates. Then review them annually. Same as having an automatic withdrawal except you push rather than they pull. I prefer it that way.

Do they charge a fee for Credit card withdrawals?

 

[Telly]

.....What I will do is set up 4 payments automatically with the Credit Union to happen on XyZ dates. Then review them annually. Same as having an automatic withdrawal except you push rather than they pull. I prefer it that way.......

If that works just like a bank transfer, that should work, though you would have to watch out for any quarter that extends across the year break, if Part B rates go up, like they will do for January 2019. In my bill, they have a note that says the 2019 Part B premium amount was not available yet, so they used the 2018 amount for January. They went on to say that the next quarterly bill will include the 2019 amounts, and an adjustment for January, if needed. We know now that it WILL be needed.

Do they charge a fee for Credit card withdrawals?

No mention of a fee, so I assume not.
HOWEVER, the bill instructions for Payment by credit/debit card says:
"Credit/debit card payments need a signature. Fill out the credit/debit card section in the coupon on the front of the bill and sign it. Medicare can't set up monthly credit/debit card payments."
And sure enough, the return coupon for use by check or money order is also used for credit/debit card payment. A section to fill in CC/DB number, expiration date, billing zip code, and Signature!
So I'm taking that to mean one cannot go online into their credit/debit card account to send them $ like one can with many other things, like utility bills, etc., instead only by mail with the coupon filled out with CC/DB info.

 

[wmc1000]

For medicare I pay the quarterly bill by CC so I get the 2% cashback from Fidelity.


As for signing up for SS, DW signed up online and received a letter that she needed to go into the SS office. Was told by SS office personnel that it was flagged as possible fraudulent activity which necessitated a trip there.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I recently received my confirmation letter with my New Medicare Number. That was not bad. It took 9 days from application to receiving my number.

 

[MBSC]

No mention of a fee, so I assume not.
HOWEVER, the bill instructions for Payment by credit/debit card says:
"Credit/debit card payments need a signature. Fill out the credit/debit card section in the coupon on the front of the bill and sign it. Medicare can't set up monthly credit/debit card payments."
And sure enough, the return coupon for use by check or money order is also used for credit/debit card payment. A section to fill in CC/DB number, expiration date, billing zip code, and Signature!

So I'm taking that to mean one cannot go online into their credit/debit card account to send them $ like one can with many other things, like utility bills, etc., instead only by mail with the coupon filled out with CC/DB info.

Medicare now accepts online payment by credit card.

Make your next Medicare premium payment online

If you get a bill from Medicare for your premiums, you may now be able to pay online with a credit or debit card. Use this new feature to pay your premiums for Medicare Part B, Part A (if you have to pay a premium for it), and IRMAA Part D.

Making your Medicare premium payment online is Free—we never charge a fee to make a Medicare premium payment.

Full article: https://www.medicare.gov/blog/medicare-premium-payment-online-2019

 

[travelover]

Medicare now accepts online payment by credit card.

Great news. Another way to get sumpin for nothin' via the Fido credit card.

 

[audreyh1]

DH just signed up for Medicare Only online, including Part B, using the link from this page: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/medicare/

He already had a mysocialsecurity account, so it was very straightforward.

 

[TromboneAl]

REWahoo turned me onto BoomerBenefits.com, which is almost too good to be true. They help out with Medicare signups, etc.