Every enrollment window
Medicare Enrollment Help In Wichita, Kansas
Which Medicare window applies to you depends on how you arrive at Medicare. Here is every one of them, so you can find yours and know what to do inside it.
There is no one Medicare sign-up day. There are several windows, and which one fits depends on your age, whether you or a spouse still work, and what coverage you carry now. This page walks Wichita readers through each of them, with extra care on the two that catch people out most: turning 65 while on a group plan, and retiring after 65. Prefer to ask? help with Medicare in Wichita is one phone call away, and it is free because the carrier pays the agent.
The Enrollment Windows At A Glance
There are seven windows. Find the row that sounds like you, then read on, since the sections below follow the same order.
| Enrollment window | Who uses it | Timing | What it allows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Enrollment Period | People reaching 65 and new to Medicare | A seven-month span built around the birthday month | Sign up for Part A and Part B, then choose a plan |
| Part B Special Enrollment Period | People past 65 still covered through work | Eight months, starting the month after work or group coverage stops | Add Part B with no late surcharge |
| Part D Special Enrollment Period | The same group, for prescriptions | Two months after the drug coverage stops | Pick a drug plan before any penalty builds |
| General Enrollment Period | Anyone who let the first two pass | January 1 to March 31 each year | Enroll in Part B, which starts the following month |
| Annual Enrollment Period | Everyone with Medicare | October 15 to December 7 | Add, swap or drop Medicare Advantage plans or drug plans |
| Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment | Current Advantage members | January 1 to March 31 | Move to another Advantage plan or back to Original Medicare |
| Medigap open enrollment | People 65 or older who just started Part B | Six months, one time only | Buy any Supplement plan you qualify for, no health questions |
The Initial Enrollment Period
Your 65th birthday opens this window, and for most people it is the only one they ever need. Count seven months in all, with your birthday month sitting in the middle and three months on either side of it.
When you apply sets when coverage begins. Apply in the months before your birthday and coverage can start the first day of your birthday month. Apply in the birthday month or later and it starts the month after you sign up. So the early months are the ones to use.
If the whole window slips by and no employer plan covers you, your next chance is the General Enrollment Period, and a Part B late enrollment penalty gets added to your premium for as long as you have Part B.
Give us your birth month and we will point to the month you should apply.
Call us (316) 374-2353 Request a callRetiring Or Leaving Employer Coverage
Staying on a job-based group plan past 65 swaps the birthday window for a Special Enrollment Period. It gives you breathing room, provided you use it on schedule. Four rules apply.
- Part B gets eight months. Count from the earlier of two events: the job ending or the group plan ending. The eight months begin the following month. Those two dates can be months apart. Sign up inside the eight months and no penalty is added.
- Part D gets two months. Join a drug plan within two months of losing the old drug coverage. If the gap hits 63 days, the penalty counts every full month without creditable drug coverage since your Initial Enrollment Period ended, not just the days past 63.
- Your Medigap window starts with Part B. The six-month Supplement window keys off your Part B start date, not your birthday. Retire at 67 and it opens at 67, so picking that date with care buys six months free of health questions.
- Two forms travel together. CMS-40B applies for Part B. CMS-L564 is filled out by your employer to show you had group coverage.
Handle it before your last day: get the creditable coverage letter from HR in writing, and have them complete CMS-L564 while you still have a badge.
Retiring soon? We can lay out your Part B, Part D and Medigap dates before you file.
Call us (316) 374-2353 Request a callThe General Enrollment Period
When both windows above have passed, this is the door that stays open. It runs January 1 to March 31 every year, it accepts everyone, and Part B begins the first of the month after you sign up.
Use it as a last resort. It usually comes with a penalty, and there is a stretch with no Part B before coverage starts. Rule out a Special Enrollment Period before you settle for it.
Think you missed your chance? We will look at whether a Special Enrollment Period still applies.
Call us (316) 374-2353 Request a callAnnual Enrollment And Advantage Open Enrollment
Between October 15 and December 7 you can respond to whatever your plan's autumn letter says. If nothing in it affects you, leaving things alone is a perfectly good choice. The Sedgwick County Annual Enrollment guide walks through that season step by step.
Anyone in an Advantage plan on January 1 gets one more change before March 31. It is the safety net for the person whose first pharmacy bill or a network letter in January shows the new plan is not working out.
Medigap Open Enrollment
This is the window people lose without noticing. It runs six months and opens in the first month when two things are both true: you are 65 or older, and your Part B has started.
During those months a Supplement carrier in Kansas has to sell you any plan you are eligible for, at its standard rate, regardless of health history. The one gap is Plans C and F, which are off the table for anyone who first became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020.
Where Wichita Residents Enroll
Social Security handles Parts A and B, not an insurance agent. You have three ways to reach it, plus free counseling on the side.
- Online at ssa.gov. Apply for Part B and Extra Help there and keep the dated confirmation it gives you.
Source: ssa.gov, Medicare benefits
- The Wichita Social Security office. The field office serving Wichita answers at 866-931-9173. Book ahead rather than walking in, and confirm the location and hours on the SSA office locator. The national line, 1-800-772-1213, also takes applications.
Source: ssa.gov office locator
- SHICK counseling. Volunteer counselors explain Medicare at no charge and sell nothing. In Wichita the program runs through the K-State Research and Extension county office; the Wichita resource directory lists the rest.
Source: kdads.ks.gov, SHICK
Wichita enrollment FAQ
How do I tell which window applies to me?
Work from two facts: your age and the coverage you hold. Under 65 and not yet on Medicare points to the Initial Enrollment Period. Over 65 with a job-based plan points to the Special Enrollment Period when that plan ends. Already enrolled points to the autumn window.
Will I be signed up for Medicare automatically?
It does only for people who started Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits at least four months ahead of their 65th birthday. Everyone else applies.
Is it allowed to have Part B and a job-based plan together?
You can. Some people do it on purpose when their group plan has a large deductible. Whether it pays off is a matter of adding up premiums and costs, not of rules.
I only signed up for Part A at 65. Did I make a mistake?
Usually it is fine. Premium-free Part A pays after your group plan. Keep an eye on the date that group coverage ends, because your eight months start from it. Note that Part A ends your ability to put money into a health savings account.
How soon is my application processed?
Social Security does not promise a set processing time. Apply early in your window, save the receipt from the online form, and call 1-800-772-1213 if your card has not shown up by the time coverage should begin.
Can you submit my Medicare application?
Part A and Part B applications belong to Social Security, and no agent can submit them for you. We help with what sits on top: a drug plan, a Supplement or an Advantage plan.
Not sure which window you are in?
Share your dates with us and we will name the window that applies. No cost.
Call (316) 374-2353 Or request a callback