Medicare question

[md]

So, I just got a letter from Medicare saying that since my partner has been receiving SSDI for almost 2 years now he will be eligible for Medicare in a few months time and that, if I don't do anything, he will automatically be enrolled in Medicare Part B and the premium will be deducted from his SSDI payment every month.

Right now he is covered as my domestic partner under my employer's health plan and that is a far better deal than Medicare so it looks as if I should decline Medicare Part B for now.

However, there probably will come a time when I will want to enroll him in Medicare and I want to avoid the "penalties" associated with late enrollment.The Medicare web sit makes it clear that you can avoid these penalties if the reason why you delay enrolling in Medicare is because you are covered under a group health plan provided by either your employer or your spouse's employer. Fair enough, but this is the Federal government so they won't recognize me as being his "spouse" so does that mean that he would be liable to pay the penalties for late enrollment if I decline Part B coverage for him at this time?

[allopathicholistic]

http://www.medicare.gov/contacts/static/allStateContacts.asp <- They are required to give you correct information. If not, you can raise holy hell and say it's a waste of taxpayer dollars to maintain offices that give wrong answers I would imagine you can ask for official answers in writing, complete with the full name of the person you asked and perhaps even ask in person if you can get to a local office. Good foresight on your part.

[md]

http://www.medicare.gov/contacts/static/allStateContacts.asp <- They are required to give you correct information. If not, you can raise holy hell and say it's a waste of taxpayer dollars to maintain offices that give wrong answers I would imagine you can ask for official answers in writing, complete with the full name of the person you asked and perhaps even ask in person if you can get to a local office. Remember to be clear when you post here about Medicare and Medicaid because they're 2 different things.

Thanks, and yes I had to go back and edit that post twice to make it clear that the question was about Medicare and not Medicaid - I know that they are different but I still type the wrong one half the time - just to make things even more fun, of course, in California we also have "Medical" - which I believe is the CA incarnation of Medicaid ...

[Miss Philicia]

I'd also run everything by a qualified person at your local ASO.