Every day, around 10,000 people turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare.

Not everyone needs to enroll in Medicare because many will continue working and will be covered by their employer’s health insurance.  A person who works for a large employer with good health insurance (that probably includes coverage for a younger spouse) can keep that coverage and does not need to enroll in Medicare.  When that person retires, he/she will face no penalty for late-enrollment in Part B of Medicare.

But people who are self-employed, or work for a small company with lousy health insurance (with high deductibles, co-pays, and ridiculous premiums) will be thrilled to get into the Medicare system.  I have said to many people in this category, “You may be getting older, but you’ll finally get good health insurance!”

How you enroll in Medicare depends on your current situation related to Social Security.

1) If you are receiving Social Security payments you will automatically be enrolled in Medicare A and B. Part B has a monthly premium which will be deducted from your Social Security check at the start of the month in which you turn 65.  Your Medicare card will be sent to you three months before your birthday month.

2) If you are not drawing Social Security payments you will need to contact Social Security to tell them you want Part B. Part A has no premium, so you get this automatically.

The Social Security phone number is 800-772-1213.  You will also make arrangements to pay your Part B premium, which for 2012 is $99.90 per month (but much higher if your income is above $85,000/yr).  You have to pay 3 months at a time, but you can set up automatic bank withdrawals to pay the premium each month.

You should make sure you are signed up for Medicare three months before you turn 65.  So if your birthday is in June, now is the time to get started on your Medicare Part B enrollment. If your birthday is in April, you really need to get on the ball.

Once you’ve enrolled in Part B you will get your Medicare card.  Your Medicare card has important information that is required when you go to sign up for a Medicare supplement, Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan (with Part D included). Your Medicare claim number is usually your Social Security number with a letter after it.  People who don’t use Medicare when they turn 65 will have different start dates for Part A and Part B.

Choosing your Medicare coverage:

Once you’ve got your Medicare card you need to choose your Medicare coverage.  Will you have only Medicare? (A financially risky choice.)  Will you get a Medicare supplement and a stand-alone Part D plan?  Will you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan that includes Part D drug coverage?  On my website I provide a short video presentation, Intro to Your Medicare Choices.  Click here to to go that page.

In 2011, 2.8 million baby boomers will turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare.

Not all of these baby boomers will need to enroll in Medicare because many will continue working and will be covered by their employer’s health insurance.  A person who works for a large employer with good health insurance (that probably includes coverage for a younger spouse, and even dental and vision insurance) should keep that coverage and does not need to enroll in Medicare.  When that person retires, he/she will face no penalty for late-enrollment in Part B of Medicare.

But people who are self-employed, or work for a small company with lousy health insurance (with high deductibles, co-pays, and ridiculous premiums) will be thrilled to get into the Medicare system.  I have said to many people in this category, “You may be getting older, but you’ll finally get good health insurance!”

How you enroll in Medicare depends on your current situation related to Social Security.

1) If you are receiving Social Security payments you will automatically be enrolled in Medicare A and B. Part B has a monthly premium which will be deducted from your Social Security check at the start of the month in which you turn 65.  Your Medicare card will be sent to you three months before your birthday month.

2) If you are not drawing Social Security payments you will need to contact Social Security to tell them you want Part B. Part A has no premium, so you get this automatically.

The Social Security phone number is 800-772-1213.  You will also make arrangements to pay your Part B premium, which for 2011 is $115.40 per month for those who are new to Medicare (but much higher if your income is above $85,000/yr).  You have to pay 3 months at a time, but you can set up automatic bank withdrawals to pay the premium each month.

You should make sure you are signed up for Medicare three months before you will turn 65.  So if your birthday is in April, now is the time to get started on your Medicare Part B enrollment. If your birthday is in March, you really need to get on the ball.

Once you’ve enrolled in Part B you will get your Medicare card.  Your Medicare card has important information that is required when you go to sign up for a Medicare supplement, Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan (with Part D included). Your Medicare claim number is usually your Social Security number with a letter after it.  People who don’t use Medicare when they turn 65 will have different start dates for Part A and Part B.

Once you’ve got your Medicare card you need to choose your Medicare coverage.  Will you have only Medicare? (A financially risky choice.)  Will you get a Medicare supplement and a stand-alone Part D plan?  Will you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan that includes Part D drug coverage?  On my website I provide a short video presentation, Intro to Your Medicare Choices.  Click here to to go that page.

If you want to do your own research into Medicare Advantage plans or Part D drug plans, you can use the Medicare.gov website – but you’d better have some patience. The Medicare Plan Finder on Medicare.gov has been re-designed and it’s supposed to be more user-friendly, but it has some problems.

As an insurance agent I have often used the Medicare Plan Finder to look up and compare Part D drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans, so I am familiar with the seven steps required to get me to the list of drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans offered in my county.

My opinion of the revised Medicare Plan Finder is that it is clumsy and confusing – and it is broken because it currently does not bring up all the Medicare Advantage plans in Pima County.  When I put in my zip code today, I found that at least three plans were missing from the Medicare Plan Finder list.

Missing from Medicare Plan Finder list: Health Net Ruby 1;  AARP Medicare Complete Plan 1;  Humana Local and Regional PPOs with Part D

As an insurance agent I have used the Medicare Plan Finder to compare Advantage plans side-by-side for clients. The new plan comparison does not provide all of the information on the side-by-side page to allow for a comparison of every plan benefit and co-pay.  For example, in order to get the hospital co-pay figures, you must click on a link that will take you to a summary of benefits – but you must then scroll far down that page in order to get to the “hospital co-pay” information.

The Medicare Plan Finder can be of help if a person takes several prescription drugs and needs to find the stand-alone Part D plan that works best for them.  The Plan Finder let’s you put in your prescriptions and dosage and it will identify the Part D plan that will cover your prescriptions at the lowest cost to you.  I spoke to a man last year who was able to find a Part D plan that covered his expensive generic pain medication through the donut hole.  This saved him thousands of dollars.

Having used the Medicare Plan Finder hundreds of times, I found myself getting impatient with the the new version. But at least I knew what I was looking for.  I can imagine a person using the site for the first time would get very frustrated and confused by all the clicks and tabs that must be used to find the details of plans.  In conclusion, I think the old version was better.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON YOUR MEDICARE CHOICES CLICK HERE.