It happened 50 years ago, today. On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation to establish Medicare.
You probably know that your benefits start at age 65, but you need to sign up for them – and a lot of people don’t know that.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services want you to apply for your Medicare benefits three months before your 65th birthday, even if you’re not ready to retire yet.
If you don’t sign up at age 65, and you decide to enroll later, you may pay a lifetime late enrollment penalty and you may have a gap in medical insurance coverage.
You can sign up for Medicare online in less than 10 minutes. That’s a lot more convenient than going to the Social Security Office.
At that time, you’ll be asked if you also want Medicare Part B. This coverage helps pay for doctors’ services and many other medical services and supplies that hospital insurance doesn’t cover.
There are no forms to sign and in most cases, no documentation is required. Your Medicare card will arrive by mail.