If you are a resident of Puerto Rico, receive Social Security benefits and become eligible for Medicare, you automatically will receive Medicare hospital insurance (Part A). You will not automatically receive Medicare medical insurance (Part B). You must elect Part B during your initial enrollment period, or you will pay a higher premium due to a penalty. Part B helps pay for doctors’ services, outpatient care and some home health care. The following information will help you avoid a costly penalty and loss of coverage.
When should I get Medicare coverage?
If you already are getting Social Security retirement or disability benefits, or railroad retirement benefits, we will contact you a few months before you become eligible for Medicare. To sign up for Part B, please call our toll-free number, and we will send you Form CMS-40B with a pre-addressed return envelope. Please complete the form and return it to us immediately.
If you are not already getting benefits, you should contact us about three months before you turn age 65 to sign up for Part A, even if you do not plan to retire. The easiest way to apply for Medicare is online. If you do not have Internet access, please call our toll-free number to apply by phone or make an appointment to apply at any Social Security office.
General enrollment period for Part B
If you do not sign up for Part B during your initial enrollment period, you have another chance each year to sign up during a general enrollment period from January 1 through March 31. Your coverage begins on July 1 of the year you enroll. However, your monthly premium increases 10 percent for each 12-month period you were eligible for, but did not enroll in, Part B. For more information about when your coverage begins, ask for Medicare (Publication No. 05-10043).
What if I have employer health coverage?
If you are 65 or older and covered under a group health plan, either from your own or your spouse’s current employment, you have a special enrollment period in which to sign up for Part B. This allows you to delay signing up for Part B without having to wait for a general enrollment period and paying a penalty for late enrollment. The rules allow you to sign up for Part B:
- Any time while you are covered under the group health plan based on current employment; or
- During the eight-month period that begins following the last month your group health coverage ends, or following the month employment ends— whichever comes first.
If you receive Social Security disability benefits and are covered under a group health plan, based on current employment, you also have a special enrollment period and rights that are similar to those for workers age 65 or older.
Our website is a valuable resource for information about all of Social Security’s programs. There are a number of things you can do online.
In addition to using our website, you can call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213. We treat all calls confidentially. We can answer specific questions from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Generally, you’ll have a shorter wait time if you call during the week after Tuesday. We can provide information by automated phone service 24 hours a day. (You can use our automated response system to tell us a new address or request a replacement Medicare card.) If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you may call our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.
We also want to make sure you receive accurate and courteous service. That is why we have a second Social Security representative monitor some telephone calls.
