Do I Have to Sign Up For Medicare Every Year

As a general rule, once you have enrolled in Medicare, normally you don’t have to take action for renewing the coverage every year. However, there are still many people who ask the question “do I have to sign up for Medicare every year?”. We will try and find out more about the various aspects of Medicare with special emphasis on renewal. We need to understand that automatic renewal happens with almost all types of Medicare including Medicare Advantage Plan, Original Medicare, or even a Medicare prescription drug plan. The premiums should continue to be live as long as the premiums are paid on time. Hence, renewal every year should not be much of a problem. But there are some exceptions to the rule and we are happy to share the same for the benefit of readers below.

Do I Have to Sign Up For Medicare Every Year

A Look At The Exceptions

We will try and have a look at the coverage that one needs to take to continue the coverage. We will look at certain situations where the Medicare Advantage or stand-alone Medicare as far as Part D prescription drug plan coverage is concerned. This will not automatically be renewed and there are a few limitations that should be aware of.

You could have taken the premium in a particular service area and could have moved to some other place. If the new area is outside the coverage area of the previous policy, then you have to change the coverage area when the premium is renewed or when you move to the new service area. If you leave the plan during the middle of the year, then obviously you will not get the benefit of automatic renewal coverage. There could be situations where Medicare might have terminated its contract because of various reasons.

What Happens When There Is No Automatic Renewal

There could be situations where your Medicare service providers do not renew the contract for the coming year. In such situations, the Special Election Period will come into force. It will be effective from December 8 till the last day of February as far as the following year is concerned. In case you have opted for Medicare Advantage and if you do not enroll in a new plan within the term period, you will automatically be put on the Original Medicare.

Your new coverage comes into force from the first day of the month once you have submitted the enrollment application. In other words, if you have submitted your plan on February 10, then the plan will start taking impact from March 1 the next month. Hence, this is an important point that you must always bear in mind when choosing such plans.

What About Medicare Advantage

You are also eligible for the three months special election period if you have signed either for Medical Part D Prescription Drug Plan or Medicare Advantage. The three month period is applicable only when your policy has been terminated before the expiry period.

Bottom Line

Medicare is a must whether it is for taking care of unforeseen hospitalization expenses. It also comes in very handy for buying expensive drugs for treating complex illnesses. Hence, you must keep in mind the above fact, and also take information from other sources to get the right answer for the question do I have to sign up for Medicare every year. Always make sure that you notify your Medicare provider when moving to another state.