Page 41 - Delaware Medical Journal - November/December 2019

MSDIS CORNER
change your insurance company and plan and that change is guaranteed (not subject to answering health questions).
Medicare supplement plans generally have no annual window to make changes. To change a supplement
plan, you may be required to answer medical questions to be underwritten and approved. However, you can enroll in a Medicare supplement plan without any medical questions when you first enroll in Medicare Part B. Other exceptions include changing your state of residence, or when certain changes in legislation occur.
Medicare Part A and Part B can be signed up for in the three months leading up to age 65 and the three months after. However, if you are part of a large group health plan (20 or more employees) and continue to work past age 65, you may choose to delay taking
Medicare Parts A and B. If that happens, you can leave the group plan and enroll in Medicare any time you want if you remain actively at work and eligible
for their group plan. You will also be granted up to eight months to sign up for Part B once your group coverage ends (such as at retirement).
The key is to sit down and review your options in the six months leading up to age 65. MSDIS has resources to help you answer questions such as:
• Is my group plan considered a large group?
• What are the costs for me to take Medicare vs. remaining under a group health plan?
• What are the differences in taxation on group health plan premiums vs. Medicare?
• Could I delay signing up for
Medicare? If so, when should I
sign up?
• When I am ready to leave my group
plan, what steps do I need to take?
With a little bit of time and some clear guidance, you can be sure that you are taking advantage of the best places to secure your coverage at the lowest cost. For all your time caring for patients with Medicare, you’ll want to be sure Medicare is there to take care of you.
Aaron Mitchell is MSDIS’s Lead Marketing Representative in Employee Benefits, coordinating all lines of insurance. Aaron specializes in group benefits and life insurance, but our MSDIS team includes Medicare professionals. Contact Aaron at (302) 397-0170 and he will be happy to help answer any questions or direct you to members of our Medicare team.
Have you renewed your 2020 MSD membership?
Be sure to renew your Medical Society of Delaware membership to continue to receive
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