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Medicare and You
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Important Dates
Oct 1 - start comparing your current coverage with other options
Oct 15 - Dec 7 - able to change your Medicare health or drug coverage if needed
Jan 1 - new coverage begins if you made a change
Jan 1 - Mar 31 - If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan you can change to a different MedAdvantage plan or switch to Original Medicare (and join a separate Medicare drug plan) once during this time
What's ANOC?
If you’re in a Medicare Advantage Plan, review the “Annual Notice of Change” and “Evidence of Coverage” from your plan each year: • Annual Notice of Change: Your plan will send you a printed copy by September 30. The Annual Notice of Change includes any changes in coverage, costs, provider networks, service area, and more that will be effective in January. If you don’t get these important documents in early fall, contact your plan.
Late Enrollment Penalties
Late Enrollment penalties may occur for:
- Late Enrollment into Original Medicare Part A (see page 22 of Medicare and You 2025 to see how this occurs)
- Late enrollment into Original Medicare Part B (see page 23 of Medicare and You 2025 to see how this occurs)
- Late enrollment into Part D (prescription drug coverage) (see page 83 of Medicare and You 2025 to see how this occurs
How much more will I pay for a late enrollment penalty?
The cost of the late enrollment penalty depends on how long you didn’t have creditable prescription drug coverage. Currently, the late enrollment penalty is calculated by multiplying 1% of the “national base beneficiary premium” ($36.78 in 2025) by the number of full, uncovered months that you were eligible but didn’t have Medicare drug coverage (Part D) and went without other creditable prescription drug coverage. The final amount is rounded to the nearest $.10 and added to your monthly premium. The “national base beneficiary premium” may increase or decrease each year. If that happens, the penalty amount you pay may increase or decrease. After you get Medicare drug coverage, the plan will tell you if you owe a penalty and what your premium will be.
Example:
Mrs. Martinez is currently eligible for Medicare, and her Initial Enrollment Period ended on July 31, 2021. She doesn’t have prescription drug coverage from any other source. She didn’t join by July 31, 2021, and instead joined during the Open Enrollment Period that ended December 7, 2023. Her drug coverage was effective January 1, 2024.
2024
Since Mrs. Martinez was without creditable prescription drug coverage from August 2021–December 2023, her penalty in 2024 was 29% (1% for each of the 29 months) of $34.70 (the national base beneficiary premium for 2024) or $10.06. Since the monthly penalty is always rounded to the nearest $0.10, she paid $10.10 each month in addition to her plan’s monthly premium.
Here’s the math: .29 (29% penalty) × $34.70 (2024 base beneficiary premium) = $10.06 $10.06 rounded to the nearest $0.10 = $10.10 $10.10 = Mrs. Martinez’s monthly late enrollment penalty for 2024
2025
In 2025, Medicare recalculated Mrs. Martinez’s penalty using the 2025 base beneficiary premium ($36.78). So, Mrs. Martinez’s new monthly penalty in 2025 is 29% of $36.78, or $10.66 each month. Since the monthly penalty is always rounded to the nearest $0.10, she pays $10.70 each month in addition to her plan’s monthly premium. Here’s the math: .29 (29% penalty) × $36.78 (2025 base beneficiary premium) = $10.66 $10.66 rounded to the nearest $0.10 = $10.70 $10.70 = Mrs. Martinez’s monthly late enrollment penalty for 2025