What happens if you miss your Medicare deadline?
Straight answer: penalties that never expire. Part B costs about 10% more for every year you were late, and Part D adds about 1% per month, both for life. But the fix depends on which deadline you missed, and more situations are forgivable than people think.
The General Enrollment Period
Enroll Jan 1 to Mar 31, with coverage starting the month after you sign up. The penalty adds roughly 10% to the premium for each full year you should have been enrolled, permanently.
Add it in the fall
Join a drug plan during the Oct 15 to Dec 7 window. The penalty is about 1% of the national base premium for every month you went without creditable coverage, attached to every future premium.
Special Enrollment Periods
Leaving employer coverage, moving, your plan shutting down, natural disasters, and several other events open penalty-free windows. Many "missed" deadlines turn out not to be missed at all.
Delayed because you were working? That counts.
Time covered by an employer plan of 20 or more employees does not count against you. When that coverage ends, you get an 8-month Special Enrollment Period for Part B and about two months for drug coverage, penalty-free.
The catch is proof. Keep the creditable coverage notices your employer plan sends each fall, because Medicare may ask for them years later. Lost them? HR can reissue the history. The working past 65 rules.
Related questions
Can a penalty be appealed or removed? +
Sometimes. Proof of creditable coverage erases penalties assessed in error, and there is a formal reconsideration process for Part D penalties. Bring us the letter before you pay it.
Is there a penalty for Part A too? +
Only if you do not qualify for premium-free Part A, which is uncommon. In that case, late enrollment doubles the months you pay a surcharge.
I am uninsured right now. What do I do first? +
Call us today. Which window applies decides everything, and waiting only makes the math worse. If a Special Enrollment Period fits your situation, coverage can start much sooner than you fear.
Think you missed your window? Let us check before you assume the worst.
Three quick questions, two minutes. A licensed broker calls you back within 15 minutes during business hours.