SIXTY days to process Medicare application?

[24601NoMore]

So wife applied for Medicare several days ago, as she turns 65 this week. She sees on the website that she's "accepted" as of 10/31/22. Great! From my reading here, I took that to mean I need to report a "Life Change" on the ACA website and take her off our plan.

Wife says.."wait a sec..let me make SURE I'm covered" before you cancel my ACA plan, so calls SS. After about a 90 minute or so (!) wait, gets a rep who says "well, you are not 'covered' as of now (even though everything says you are 'covered' as of the first of the month of your 65th birthday if you applied in any of the 3 months prior to your 65th birthday) and that it will be 'retroactive' to 11/1/22. Worse, she says "it will take 60 days to process" and that wife can't expect to receive a Medicare #, card, etc before "the end of December". So apparently, if she had any medical needs during that time, she'd need to pay them out of pocket, then submit claims after the fact to Medicare, once they get around to "processing" her application. And God only knows how long it would take to get reimbursed for those expenses, or if we even would get reimbursed..

WHAT?!

OK..so we apparently 'should' have applied 3 months before her birthday..but who knew?

I'm at a loss as to what to do. If I cancel her $300 or so / mo ACA plan, and she has any major medical expense, I'll wonder if anyone (ACA carrier or Medicare) is going to cover it. From everything I've read, it's "supposed" to be covered as of the 1st of the month when she turns 65 - assuming she applied in a month prior to her 65th birthday, which she did.

Would appreciate any and all help..I really don't want to fork out $300+/mo for November and December to keep her on the ACA plan. Plus, we received a "helpful" letter from the ACA plan carrier saying they will no longer pay as they expect Medicare to, effective 11/1.

Thx..

 

[badatmath]

Plus, we received a "helpful" letter from the ACA plan carrier saying they will no longer pay as they expect Medicare to, effective 11/1.
Thx..

From the above it does not sound like you have an option to pay for her ACA and have her "covered" now that she is 65 11/1.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

So wife applied for Medicare several days ago, as she turns 65 this week. She sees on the website that she's "accepted" as of 10/31/22. Great! From my reading here, I took that to mean I need to report a "Life Change" on the ACA website and take her off our plan.

Wife says.."wait a sec..let me make SURE I'm covered" before you cancel my ACA plan, so calls SS. After about a 90 minute or so (!) wait, gets a rep who says "well, you are not 'covered' as of now (even though everything says you are 'covered' as of the first of the month of your 65th birthday if you applied in any of the 3 months prior to your 65th birthday) and that it will be 'retroactive' to 11/1/22. Worse, she says "it will take 60 days to process" and that wife can't expect to receive a Medicare #, card, etc before "the end of December". So apparently, if she had any medical needs during that time, she'd need to pay them out of pocket, then submit claims after the fact to Medicare, once they get around to "processing" her application. And God only knows how long it would take to get reimbursed for those expenses, or if we even would get reimbursed..

WHAT?!

OK..so we apparently 'should' have applied 3 months before her birthday..but who knew?

I'm at a loss as to what to do. If I cancel her $300 or so / mo ACA plan, and she has any major medical expense, I'll wonder if anyone (ACA carrier or Medicare) is going to cover it. From everything I've read, it's "supposed" to be covered as of the 1st of the month when she turns 65 - assuming she applied in a month prior to her 65th birthday, which she did.

Would appreciate any and all help..I really don't want to fork out $300+/mo for November and December to keep her on the ACA plan. Plus, we received a "helpful" letter from the ACA plan carrier saying they will no longer pay as they expect Medicare to, effective 11/1.

Thx..

Posting to follow this thread as I applied 10/19, they reviewed 10/24, and they did "decision to approve" on 10/24. "We have sent a detailed notice to you with your benefit information. You should receive your notice within 10 to 15 days." November birthday in my case.

Based on your statement I would expect to be in the same situation (except I still have employer benefits which makes my case a lot less stressful).

[I waited until mid-October to do this because I was trying to figure out when I would retire (for the 2nd time). I wasn't sure if it would be real soon (end of this term, i.e. end of December) or after the spring term (end of May). My school went along with my plan regarding classes for spring (all remote) so I am working until the end of the spring term and thus only wanted Medicare part A for now.]

 

[audreyh1]

I don’t think it took that long for DH to get a Medicare number when he signed up online early 2020. He did sign up 3 months before his birthday, but the point is that his Medicare number was available online in less than a month, I think, and then he had a number he could have used with doctors once he turned 65.

 

[MichaelB]

DW applied for Medicare two months before her 65th and had to go to a SS office to provide docs they requested. They reviewed the docs, told her it was approved and gave her an approval letter with her new Medicare number, ready to use. The paperwork and card from Medicare took a few months.

 

[ivinsfan]

Sorry but how did your spouse think she could take care of all these details in what 7 days...you might not know about the 90 day recommendation but prudence alone would dictate more then a week.



As your spouse is now approved for medicare she is no longer eligible for a subsidy on her ACA plan. Also your spouse does not have a Medicare supplement in place which is a bigger issue. Look up HI brokers in your area and TOMORROW morning get signed up for a supplement. They should know how to get around some of your issues.

 

[xlf11]

Call your local office to speak to a supervisor might help your wife's case. My wife last year experienced similar situation as the rep and her trading phone/message tags until 3 days before her birth month to start Medicare. We managed to get a hold of a supervisor and he approved the case on the spot and told us she will get a Medicare # within 24hrs. It did show up next day and our agent was able to sign her a Medicare plan with only 2 days to spare...

 

[zinger1457]

I applied for Medicare on 4 August 22 for a 1 November start date. Received a letter from SSA on 12 August notifying me I was signed up for Parts A and B to start 1 November. Received my Medicare card a couple weeks later.

 

[Masquernom]

I applied for SS and Medicare part B on Oct 5th. Still showing on step 2 of 3 now on November 1. I turn 65 in January of 2023, so no panic yet, but they sure are taking their time on mine.....