Medicare at 65 - How does this work?

[pmartin]

Did they explain why there wouldn't be a penalty? A couple guys I talked to said they would be penalized if they didn't enroll within the 6 month window so I'm kinda confused.

No, they did not explain. They did put me on hold for some time so that they could talk to their bosses before coming back and saying that there would be no penalty. This discussion actually happened twice, once when I turned 65 and then again more recently when I had the problem with my insurer. Now ten years ago when my wife turned 65 she was told that she had to sign up and that she had to pay, which she did even though she was covered under my insurance. However, it turned out that because of a weird rule she did not actually receive any benefit from her medicaid coverage because her birthday is 12/11 and my birthday is 6/20, even though she is ten years older That stupid rule just about made my head explode. After we found that out I dropped her from my insurance and she picked up part B.

[gcode]

We have a guy at work who is in his early 70's
His wife is in her mid 50's and won't qualify for Medicare for another decade
He is dead on his feet and just showing up for the health insurance
There is no way he's got another decade of work in him.
Something to think about before you marry some sweet young thing half your age 

[neurosis]

Something to think about before you marry some sweet young thing half your age 

I'm guessing that medicare is the last thing on your mind when you're marrying someone a decade younger.  

[HTM01]

We have a guy at work who is in his early 70's
His wife is in her mid 50's and won't qualify for Medicare for another decade
He is dead on his feet and just showing up for the health insurance
There is no way he's got another decade of work in him.
Something to think about before you marry some sweet young thing half your age 

a guy i worked with retired at 62 his wife is 10 older, he said his private insurance is cheaper than when he was working thanks to subsidies for obamacare

[Smit]

We have a guy at work who is in his early 70's
His wife is in her mid 50's and won't qualify for Medicare for another decade
He is dead on his feet and just showing up for the health insurance
There is no way he's got another decade of work in him.
Something to think about before you marry some sweet young thing half your age 

Is something wrong with her that keeps her from getting her young ass out there to work?!?!

[Shazam/TPP]

Is something wrong with her that keeps her from getting her young ass out there to work?!?!

maybe the guy is hung like a horse and she can't walk? or mucho $$$, why else would she have married him?

[gcode]

Is something wrong with her that keeps her from getting her young ass out there to work?!?!

I believe she has medical issues which makes good health insurance even more important

[mowens]

Having a health savings account is why I didn't have to sign up.

[Smit]

Per Mikes comment I did a little more research and found a few guidelines on how HSAs and Medicare work together.

How Do I Defer Medicare Coverage?

[neurosis]

What is the point of penalizing people so harshly for missing the enrollment date for medicare?  That seems like they are going out of their way to screw people over.

We've had a few people working here over the years who hit retirement age and had no idea that they were supposed to sign up until our front office let them know.  They would have never known until after it was too late.