Last Chance for Senior Citizens Who Never Signed Up for Medicare Part B

If you are eligible for Medicare Part B medical insurance, but you didn’t sign up for it when you first became eligible for Medicare, you will have another opportunity to apply. Open Enrollment for Medicare Part B runs from January 1 until March 31, 2009.

Medicare Part B covers some medical expenses not covered by Medicare Part A (hospital insurance), such as doctors’ fees, outpatient hospital visits, and other medical services and supplies. (See more about the different parts of Medicare below.)

When you first become eligible for hospital insurance (Part A), you have an initial enrollment period of seven-months in which to sign up for medical insurance (Part B). After that, you have to pay a higher premium — unless the reason you declined Part B was because you were covered through an employer's group health plan or a group health plan based on a spouse's employment. You are given another opportunity to enroll in Part B during the open enrollment period, from January 1 to March 31 of each year.

But each 12-month period that you are eligible for Medicare Part B and do not sign up, the amount of your monthly premium increases by 10 percent. The Part B coverage also does not become effective until July 1 of the year you are signing up late.


Different parts of Medicare

Medicare is made up of four parts.
1. Hospital insurance (Part A) that helps pay for inpatient care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility (following a hospital stay), some home health care and hospice care.
2. Medical insurance (Part B) that helps pay for doctors’ services and many other medical services and supplies that are not covered by hospital insurance.
3. Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans are available in many areas. People with Medicare Parts A and B can choose to receive all of their health care services through one of these provider organizations under Part C.
4. Lastly, there is Prescription drug coverage (Part D) that helps pay for prescription medications.