In the past when I had people in their IEP who didn't want coverage to start till the next month (let's say T65 December ) has employer plan through end of year, we would tell them to apply in early December to avoid an extra month of B. This month I have started seeing people get their B backdated to 12/1 even when they applied in December. So we looked into it, and apparently now SSA bases it off of when you start the application, not when you submit it. That is what ssa told a client, they said since she started it in November, but submitted it 12/8, it would be retroactive to 12/1 even for Part B. Ok, that was news to me. So then I had another lady who started and submitted her application on 12/1. Hers was also backdated to 12/1. Any clue why this is? If she had started the application on 12/2 would this have also happened?
Retroactive Part B
- Thread starter Cdevin
- Start date
- 7,212
Caveat, not an agent.
I stumbled on this by accident just after I saw your thread.
Scan the first part of the thread quickly and then note post 9. Is that a possible explanation for your specific enrollees' situations?
If it's worth arguing about with social security, one might try to hunt up a social security POMS manual page showing the priorities of enrollment periods. If it shows IEP taking precedence over the others, one could then go back to social security using the appeal procedures if client is still in appeal timeframe from date of SS notification letter.
I stumbled on this by accident just after I saw your thread.
Scan the first part of the thread quickly and then note post 9. Is that a possible explanation for your specific enrollees' situations?
If it's worth arguing about with social security, one might try to hunt up a social security POMS manual page showing the priorities of enrollment periods. If it shows IEP taking precedence over the others, one could then go back to social security using the appeal procedures if client is still in appeal timeframe from date of SS notification letter.
- 7,212
There is a document you can use to start a search.
but again, there is the question of whether it is worth the time and effort to do appeal and phone calls to attempt to get an established Part B start date changed.
If you are doing it, you are going to spend more than the value of the client's extra premium in terms of time for you and your staff.
- 1,818
FWIW, Social Security reps have told me to have the client use the remarks section of the application for Part B to specify what date they request Part B to start. Haven't had any back dating so far.
This is true. Had a client that was pissed at me a couple years ago for this. Although it was totally her fault. I told her to apply the month before she wanted it to start and sent her an email on the 1st of that month. Well she was one of those eager beavers and went in there and "started" the application like 2 months before but didn't submit. When she submitted it they back dated it to the month after she started the application.
Even though it wasn't my fault and she is not a client bc of this I did learn this rule and now warn everyone not to do this. In the end I dodged a bullet on her anyway I do believe
They always need to notate in the remarks section when to start part B. Doesn't need to be the month before unless they are in IEP.
Correct. But I am specifically referring to IEP...which I didn't reference in my op, so should have been more specific. Example of when someone is T65 on Dec 5 but they want their Part B to start on Feb 1 then need to apply between Jan 1 and Jan 31
Yeah that's on them then. Screw em. I always take lots of notes just in case
mkblinzler
Expert
- 28
I always have people write in the remarks and state exactly when they want Part A and Part B to begin no matter when we apply. And I send reminders 3 months in advance to apply. I have had people with the wrong DOB that took forever to be corrected. I have even had different names. LOL
Hi all...
It appears that I fell into this trap. I turned 65 last November. Although I started my Medicare application in August, I did not submit it until December (online and for Part A and B) based on the assumption that Medicare would then start in January (and I would then start paying for Part B). Unfortunately, I did not put in the comments that I wanted Medicare to start in January (although I do not know if that would have made a difference based on comments in other threads).
Several days after I signed up, I received a letter stating that my Medicare Part A and Part B "start November 2024." I submitted an "appeal" online asking that it start January 2025 but have yet to hear back from them. I also spoke with my local SSA office and was told that I would have to unenroll from Medicare (which I was told, I can only do once in my lifetime) and then re-enroll (which I would have to do immediately in order to avoid the penalty for not applying within the IEP). Has anyone ever heard of that?
I looked online and determined that I would need to go into the SSA office to unenroll. I hope to do so this week - or I may just decide it's not worth the extra two months of premium payments. But, then I have to go back to my current health insurance and unravel the payments that it made in November for me (when I did not know that I had Medicare).
Any thoughts/opinions/advice? Thank you!
It appears that I fell into this trap. I turned 65 last November. Although I started my Medicare application in August, I did not submit it until December (online and for Part A and B) based on the assumption that Medicare would then start in January (and I would then start paying for Part B). Unfortunately, I did not put in the comments that I wanted Medicare to start in January (although I do not know if that would have made a difference based on comments in other threads).
Several days after I signed up, I received a letter stating that my Medicare Part A and Part B "start November 2024." I submitted an "appeal" online asking that it start January 2025 but have yet to hear back from them. I also spoke with my local SSA office and was told that I would have to unenroll from Medicare (which I was told, I can only do once in my lifetime) and then re-enroll (which I would have to do immediately in order to avoid the penalty for not applying within the IEP). Has anyone ever heard of that?
I looked online and determined that I would need to go into the SSA office to unenroll. I hope to do so this week - or I may just decide it's not worth the extra two months of premium payments. But, then I have to go back to my current health insurance and unravel the payments that it made in November for me (when I did not know that I had Medicare).
Any thoughts/opinions/advice? Thank you!
