When Can You Delay Taking Medicare?

Note that COBRA coverage does not count as a health insurance plan for Medicare purposes. Neither does retiree coverage or VA benefits.  Just because you have some type of health insurance doesn’t mean you don’t have to sign up for Medicare Part B when first eligible. For you to be able to delay taking Part B, your health insurance must be from an employer where you actively work, subject to the 20-employee rule noted above.

If you are working or have other private insurance, you may be able to delay Medicare Part D without a penalty. Beneficiaries are exempt from the penalties if their insurance is at least as good as Medicare’s. This is called “creditable coverage. Your insurer should let you know if their coverage will be considered creditable.  You may also be able to avoid or delay getting Part D if you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan that offers prescription drug coverage.

If you are working, you generally can enroll in Medicare Part A, which is free for most people, without consequences. However, if you are contributing to a health savings account (HSA) at work, you cannot sign up for Medicare. This is true even if your employer has fewer than 20 employees. Part A covers institutional care in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, as well as certain care given by home health agencies and care provided in hospices, so you will need to analyze whether the HSA is worth losing out on the Medicare Part A coverage. If you are already receiving Social Security, you will be automatically enrolled in Part A, so you will have to stop contributing to the HSA.

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