COBRA and Part B from Disability

[Piece Of The Pie]

A guy received his Medicare card today and is eligible for Medicare A&B April 1 from a disability. He is 64. Coincidentally, his wife is retiring April 1 and he is eligible for COBRA until he turns 65.
Can he defer Part B until he turns 65 without penalty?
Thanks.

 

[Chazm]

He can but chances are that cobra is super expensive. Med supp will most likely cost him less with better coverage. Or a mapd depending on your state

 

[LostDollar]

https://www.medicare.gov/people-lik...g-up-for-part-b-disability.html#collapse-3201


I have a disability and Part A only. Can I get Part B when I turn 65?
If you're still getting disability benefits when you turn 65, you won't have to apply for Part B. Medicare will enroll you in Part B automatically. Your Medicare card will be mailed to you about 3 months before your 65th birthday. If you don't want Part B, follow the instructions that come with the card.

If you're not getting disability benefits and Medicare when you turn 65, contact Social Security to sign up for Medicare

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edit:

After a comment below, I seen that once again I have attempted to communicate in an unclear manner. The post I made was an attempt to answer op's question:

Can he defer Part B until he turns 65 without penalty?

with information from a Medicare document.

The information I posted shows that Medicare recognizes that a T65 disabled can turn 65 with only Part A of Medicare in place and have a penalty free Part B enrollment. To me that seemed to imply that the answer to the question asked is yes because to have only Part A, the beneficary must have declined Part B.

However, after a lot more reading, I reached the conclusion that the real problem is that the correct question was not being asked and have attempted to communicate that in my subsequent posts.

 

[kgmom219]

He can but chances are that cobra is super expensive. Med supp will most likely cost him less with better coverage. Or a mapd depending on your state

Depends on the state.

I would rather pay COBRA than $350 for Plan A in TX.

We only offer Plan A to U65 Medicare and thats the cheapest one

 

[somarco]

Medigap rates under 65 are outrageously expensive in GA with some exceeding $1,000 per month. Factoring in carrier commissions of $0 - $25 one time and you have a situation where the best thing you can do is offer suggestions and keep in contact until he turns 65.

 

[LostDollar]

what is wife's age and what is she doing for ins?

Is their cobra discussion family cobra vs single cobra?

how long until he turns 65?

 

[Piece Of The Pie]

He can but chances are that cobra is super expensive. Med supp will most likely cost him less with better coverage. Or a mapd depending on your state

Cobra is only $320 per month
His Plan F in FL is over $600 per month until he turns 65.
I just want to make sure he can decline his Part B until age 65 without a penalty.

 

[LostDollar]

https://www.medicareinteractive.org...till-working-and-have-insurance-from-that-job

See last paragraph.

I don't know if that will be acceptable to you or not because it is not a cms document. I finally refound that, but am unable to hit on the right search terms to get the same info from a cms or medicare page.

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Freedom from part B penalty may not be the only issue either.

If your client had Medicare because of disability and cobra coverage as well, and Medicare secondary payer rules would then cause Medicare to be the primary payer and the cobra payer to be the secondary payer on any claim---

The cobra plan MIGHT process any claims for your client as though he had primary Part B coverage, even though he was/is not actually enrolled in part B. This would result in pretty small reimbursement from the cobra plan for any claim of your client's.

http://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-10-2009/ask_ms_medicare_question_68.html

(I don't know if it is legal to have both Medicare and cobra, but if it is and the above scenario comes into play, you could look at doing Part B and cobra, in essence using cobra as the medigap plan and then resetting everything at age 65. The combo of Part B and Cobra you mentioned is prob. approx. the same as the plan F.)

 

[midwestbroker]

FYI:

If you have a client getting Medicare and they are offered COBRA, they should keep (or enroll) in Medicare Part B as COBRA does not count as creditable coverage to delay Medicare Part B.

https://www.medicare.gov/sign-up-change-plans/get-parts-a-and-b/should-you-get-part-b/should-i-get-part-b.html#collapse-3156

 

[LostDollar]

FYI:

If you have a client getting Medicare and they are offered COBRA, they should keep (or enroll) in Medicare Part B as COBRA does not count as creditable coverage to delay Medicare Part B.

https://www.medicare.gov/sign-up-change-plans/get-parts-a-and-b/should-you-get-part-b/should-i-get-part-b.html#collapse-3156

That may not always be true. If the other knowledge I presented is correct, this is a special case where the taking cobra situation would not relate to Part B penalties because the client has a second chance at 65.

In this case, the taking cobra decision would relate to A) if the cobra plan is creditable coverage for part D and B) whether or not the cobra carrier processes claims as though medicare was present, even if it's not.

The op did not answer my question as to when the client turned 65-I think that also could be relevant if it is in less than 3 months.

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if you have a few minutes sometime next week and would care to share, I would be interested in knowing how you and your client decided to handle this.