📋 Millions Pay Medicare Late-Enrollment Penalties for Life after Missing Deadlines (AARP Article)

Maybe we should Thank them since they are paying MORE - which keeps us from paying more - cause it all goes back to the program - B or D - whichever.

However, when a low income person does not enroll when they are eligible - for whatever the reason - if they qualify for a Medicare Savings Program that pays the Part B premium - then their state’s Medicaid program picks up the premium -

penalty and all.

Same for Part D except it is covered under the Low Income Subsidy program for Rx.- National Council on Aging - 10/23/2023 - Understanding Medicare’s Part D Low Income Subsidy (LIS/Extra Help)

Many people don’t read any of the info put out by CMS or Medicare nor do they seek help from the many avenues that offer it - 

I helped a son of a man who was 87 years old the other day and he has never had Part D or Part B - the elderly man said they were too expensive and now he needed them - Imagine premium penalties for 22 years - they were astronomical.  Thank goodness, he was an eligible Veteran and is now enrolled in that Healthcare system

Yes some people do it because they don’t want to pay the Part B premiums or they aren’t on any Rx treatments but delaying enrollment in them isn’t a good way to do it.

Others do it because they are living outside the US borders and don’t need it UNLESS they come back later in their life and then want to use this outpatient and/or prescription drug plan within Medicare.

Others think they have already paid for these programs while they were working with their Medicare payroll deductions - Those payroll deductions only pay for Medicare Part A and if you have enough years paying into the system, you get premium-free Medicare Part A.

From theAARP Public Policy Institute Report on the subject 03/ 2024 :

 The purpose of the penalties is to encourage
prompt enrollment and discourage people
from waiting until they need costly health care
to sign up. This approach not only benefits
individuals by protecting them with health
insurance but also strengthens the Medicare
program by spreading its costs broadly among
a wide population, which helps keep per-
person costs and premiums as low as possible.

So IF NOT a late sign up penalty, how would we get people to sign up in a timely fashion.?

I think many people don’t know how insurance works - ANY insurance - 

In this regards, their lack of learning or knowledge is costing them - or maybe not if they are low income and are eligible for some MSP subsidy.