If you receive anything in the mail from the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) or Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), it is extremely important that you open it immediately!
A small number of SDCERS’ retirees have experienced issues related to their Medicare Part B premiums. The affected retirees were required to pay their Medicare Part B premiums directly to CMS because they either 1) do not receive a monthly Social Security benefit, or 2) do receive a monthly Social Security benefit, but the amount is not enough to cover their Medicare Part B premiums. However, these retirees failed to make timely payments for their Part B premiums to CMS, resulting in the loss of their Medicare Part B coverage, and were subsequently either disenrolled from a sponsored Medicare Supplemental plan or they were switched to a much more expensive non-Medicare plan, with the higher monthly premiums owed retroactively to the date they lost their Medicare coverage.
If you fail to pay your monthly or quarterly Medicare Part B premiums in full and on time, you may become delinquent, causing your Medicare coverage to be at risk. Note that we have received reports from retirees stating that they never received information from the SSA regarding unpaid premiums before their Medicare coverage was terminated! Medicare may not send monthly or quarterly invoices – if you are paying all or a portion of your Medicare Part B premiums directly to CMS, it is imperative that you periodically check with the SSA to confirm your premiums are paid in full and on time.
If you have concerns about your status with Medicare, you should contact Social Security online at www.SSA.gov, go in person to any Social Security Office, or contact Social Security by phone at (800) 633-4227.
If you have not yet started your Medicare application process, please contact your local SSA office or visit www.SSA.gov to find out if you are eligible and see information on how to apply.
Please evaluate your healthcare coverage options carefully! Enrolling in a Medicare insurance plan may reduce your costs. However, note that you should not enroll in Medicare Part D (Prescription Drug Coverage) if you are enrolling in a health plan that already includes prescription drug coverage, because enrolling in Part D may result in the termination of your current health insurance coverage.
Health plan experts are available at CareCounsel to assist retirees, free of charge, with any health plan questions including questions about Medicare – email staff@carecounsel.com or call (888) 227-3334 Monday – Friday, open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST. CareCounsel also provides helpful videos on their website that may answer your questions about Medicare: https://carecounsel.com/medicare.html.