When you sign up for Medicare, you can decide to cancel any other health coverage you have. Alternatively, you can choose to keep it. This may help you pay for services not otherwise covered by Medicare.
Before you make any major decisions, you will want to talk to your employer to see how their health coverage interacts with Medicare. Depending on the size of the employer, you may be able to delay your enrollment in Medicare Part B, with your employer’s plan providing primary coverage[0]. Or you may have to enroll in both parts of Medicare, with your employer’s plan providing secondary coverage. You’ll also need to consider whether you’re willing and able to pay premiums for both the employer’s plan and Medicare Part B. The decision about your ongoing health coverage should only be made after you’ve discussed the details with your employer.
Note: You cannot buy an individual (self-purchased) health plan after you’re enrolled in Medicare. But if you already have an individual plan, you are not required to drop it when you enroll in Medicare. However, any marketplace premium subsidies that you receive would end once you’re enrolled in Medicare (meaning you’d pay full price for the individual plan), and Medicare does not coordinate benefits with individual health coverage[1]. So in most cases, it’s not in your best interest to maintain an individual market plan in addition to Medicare.
When you sign up for Medicare, you can decide to cancel any other health coverage you have. Alternatively, you can choose to keep it. This may help you pay for services not otherwise covered by Medicare.
Before you make any major decisions, you will want to talk to your employer to see how their health coverage interacts with Medicare. Depending on the size of the employer, you may be able to delay your enrollment in Medicare Part B, with your employer’s plan providing primary coverage[2]. Or you may have to enroll in both parts of Medicare, with your employer’s plan providing secondary coverage. You’ll also need to consider whether you’re willing and able to pay premiums for both the employer’s plan and Medicare Part B. The decision about your ongoing health coverage should only be made after you’ve discussed the details with your employer.
Note: You cannot buy an individual (self-purchased) health plan after you’re enrolled in Medicare. But if you already have an individual plan, you are not required to drop it when you enroll in Medicare. However, any marketplace premium subsidies that you receive would end once you’re enrolled in Medicare (meaning you’d pay full price for the individual plan), and Medicare does not coordinate benefits with individual health coverage[3]. So in most cases, it’s not in your best interest to maintain an individual market plan in addition to Medicare.