medicare enrollment...

[Guest guest]

I recently found out that I will be losing my private medical insurance

sometime later this year. Though I have been on SSI and officially

medically disabled since 1991, I have never applied for medicare

benefits, but now I need to get covered, particularly the prescription drug

benefit.

I also heard (just yesterday) that I have until Monday to apply for drug

coverage or face consequences of higher drug costs.

If the 'Medicare Part D Boat' indeed does set sail on Monday, is there a way to

get on board

before it leaves the harbor? Can I accomplish this online quickly? If so, can

anyone direct me

to a website that handles such stuff? I have been unable to easily find

out how to make my application/sign up for medicare benefits. I suspect I will

need to be

enrolled in all aspects of medicare to obtain the prescription drug benefit.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

in Seattle

[Guest guest]

, You would only be eligible for Medicare (and Part D) if you also receive some Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, as you qualify for both Medicare and Social Security Disability insurance by working a certain amount of quarters before your disability began. SSI is not the same as SSDI. If you are not eligible for Medicare, then there is no deadline for Part D. If you are eligible for Medicare, but just never used it, then you might want to head down to your local SSA office on Monday to try to get things straightened out. If you are still confused about this, feel free to email directly for more assistance. 32824 wrote: I just got my social security award this month. My worker told me

that you automatically get Medicare after 24 months of waiting, so there's nothing to apply for. To choose your Medicare D plan, just go to medicare.gov and follow the directions for your state, and make sure that you find a plan that has ALL of your meds in it, including antibiotics, etc. May cost a bit more, but I know it will be worth it. Then find out if you qualify financially for the extra Medicare help that is described on their website, and in the book you got this yera called "Medicare and You, 2006" If you have SSI, I suspect that you qualfy for Medicare help, and your co-pays will be next to nothing. ($2-$5 at the most) If you're worried about Medicare and Monday, I'd hop on my computer now and sign up for a plan that works for you. Go to the site, and click Formulary Finder, enter your state, enter your meds, then choose a plan dlgemes wrote: I recently found out that I will be losing my private medical insurance sometime later this year. Though I have been on SSI and officially medically disabled since 1991, I have never applied for medicare benefits, but now I need to get covered, particularly the prescription drug benefit. I also heard (just yesterday) that I have until Monday to apply for drug coverage or face consequences of higher drug costs.If the 'Medicare Part D Boat' indeed does set sail on Monday, is there a way to get on board before it leaves the harbor? Can I accomplish this online quickly? If so, can anyone direct me to a website that handles such stuff? I have been unable to easily find out how to make my application/sign up

for medicare benefits. I suspect I will need to be enrolled in all aspects of medicare to obtain the prescription drug benefit.Any help would be greatly appreciated.Thanks, in Seattle Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.