CMS NEWS: Helping You Help Your Employees with Medicare Enrollment

CMS BLOG

http://blog.cms.gov/2015/09/25/helping-you-help-your-employees-with-medicare-enrollment/

September 25, 2015

By Sean Cavanaugh, Deputy Administrator and Director, Center for Medicare

Helping You Help Your Employees with Medicare Enrollment

Do you have employees or retirees who are eligible to enroll in Medicare?  Many people are still working when they’re first eligible for Medicare, and they need to decide if they should get Medicare Part B coverage.

Those newly eligible for Medicare who are still working or have employer coverage have important decisions to make.  It’s important they understand how and when to enroll, as well as the consequences of not enrolling.  Those who don’t enroll timely may have gaps in their insurance coverage and may pay more for Part B (late enrollment penalty) for as long as they have that coverage.  There’s other important information to understand about Medicare enrollment, for example:

• Some people get Medicare automatically, and some need to sign up for it.
• People can enroll in Medicare Part B only at certain times.
• There are special enrollment rules for those who are still working and covered by an employer.
• Not everyone with Medicare is 65 or older.

CMS has a new web resource to help you help your Medicare-eligible employees understand Medicare and other retirement issues they may face.  This one-stop shop is (https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Find-Your-Provider-Type/Employers/Employer-Community.html) where you can easily connect with information about many topics including:

• Medicare enrollment
• How healthcare benefits are coordinated
• The Health Insurance Marketplace
• Special Enrollment Period (SEP) eligibility

We encourage you to check out this new page to get the up-to-date, official information about Medicare enrollment and other retirement topics to share with your employees and retirees.