(posting this on behalf of my father)
We have a strange and extreme problem. My wife, who is nearly 70, signed up for Medicare Part A upon turning 65, but deferred signing up for Part B as I was working and good insurance. I ended employment due to covid and got COBRA for 18 months, and that is drawing to a close at the end of September. Apparently the ending of COBRA is not a “triggering event” for a special enrollment period. We discovered that she would have to wait until Jan 22 to be able to add Part B, so we just accepted that she would have to buy private ACA insurance until July 1 2022, when she would be added to Part B. We also accepted that there might be late penalties, etc.
We found out yesterday that she can *not” buy a private ACA policy because she has part A. So as of now, she will not have part B or comparable private coverage for 9 months from October 1 2021 through July 1 2022. This won’t work, as she has manageable but significant health issues. We spoke to SSA and Medicare, and one person said she can join part B at any time, in or out of an enrollment period, but that if we did not get a special enrollment qualification, then she would have to pay the penalty of x% for Part B through the life of her medicare coverage. This person at SSA seemed VERY sure of this, though it is at best ambiguous on the web sites. So we put in an application for part B online.
We also learned that extending COBRA is possible through CAL COBRA, as I worked at a state agency, so we have also put in an application for extending COBRA. So, two questions, from all I have read, if you do not qualify for a special enrollment period then you can not sign up for Part B outside of the General Enrollment Period. But this person at SSA contradicted that.
ANY THOUGHTS? Has anyone been in this situation? Any other options for buying ACA style coverage that people know about on private markets? Thanks in advance.
submitted by /u/nicalifts
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(posting this on behalf of my father) We have a strange and extreme problem. My wife, who is nearly 70, signed up for Medicare Part A upon turning 65, but deferred signing up for Part B as I was working and good insurance. I ended employment due to covid and got COBRA for 18 months, and that is drawing to a close at the end of September. Apparently the ending of COBRA is not a “triggering event” for a special enrollment period. We discovered that she would have to wait until Jan 22 to be able to add Part B, so we just accepted that she would have to buy private ACA insurance until July 1 2022, when she would be added to Part B. We also accepted that there might be late penalties, etc. We found out yesterday that she can *not” buy a private ACA policy because she has part A. So as of now, she will not have part B or comparable private coverage for 9 months from October 1 2021 through July 1 2022. This won’t work, as she has manageable but significant health issues. We spoke to SSA and Medicare, and one person said she can join part B at any time, in or out of an enrollment period, but that if we did not get a special enrollment qualification, then she would have to pay the penalty of x% for Part B through the life of her medicare coverage. This person at SSA seemed VERY sure of this, though it is at best ambiguous on the web sites. So we put in an application for part B online. We also learned that extending COBRA is possible through CAL COBRA, as I worked at a state agency, so we have also put in an application for extending COBRA. So, two questions, from all I have read, if you do not qualify for a special enrollment period then you can not sign up for Part B outside of the General Enrollment Period. But this person at SSA contradicted that. ANY THOUGHTS? Has anyone been in this situation? Any other options for buying ACA style coverage that people know about on private markets? Thanks in advance.
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