Close
Celebrating 35 years of making Medicare more accessible, affordable, and equitable!

Medicare Snapshot: Stories from the Helpline

Part D Enrollment: Penalty Pitfalls

Since 2006, people with Medicare have benefited from access to coverage for prescription medications by enrolling in private insurance plans through Medicare Part D. People eligible for Medicare who fail to enroll in Part D face a late enrollment penalty (LEP) unless they have other creditable coverage, meaning a prescription drug plan that provides equal or greater value than the standard Part D benefit. While those with creditable coverage can delay enrollment in Part D and will not pay penalties, those without creditable coverage face a penalty equal to 1 percent of the national base beneficiary premium ($34.10 in 2016) for each month they delay enrollment in Part D after qualifying for Part D coverage. This penalty is added to a beneficiary’s premium every month and, in many cases, may be paid for the rest of the beneficiary’s life.

In the past year, the Medicare Rights’ national helpline observed a notable increase in callers assessed a late enrollment penalty by their Part D plan. Yet, many of these callers could have avoided this pitfall and saved significant time and money.

Recent Resources
September 10, 2024  
Positions and Publications
September 10, 2024  
Positions and Publications
September 10, 2024  
Positions and Publications
September 10, 2024  
Positions and Publications
September 9, 2024  
Comments
Protect & Strengthen Medicare

Any changes to the Medicare program must aim for healthier people, better care, and smarter spending—not paying more for less. As policymakers debate the future of health care, we will provide our insights here.

30 Policy Goals

Thinking ahead to Medicare's future, it’s important to modernize benefits and pursue changes that improve how people with Medicare navigate their coverage on a daily basis. Here are our evolving 30 policy goals for Medicare’s future.

Get Involved

You can help protect and strengthen Medicare by taking action on the important issues we are following, subscribe to newsletter alerts, or follow along on social media. Any way you choose to get involved is a contribution that we appreciate greatly.

CELEBRATING

YEARS

Join the anniversary celebration!

Let's continue making history

Help us honor 35 years of making Medicare more affordable, accessible, and equitable. Sign up to receive special alerts with ways to support our 35 years of service to older adults and people with disabilities. Learn more at www.medicarerights.org/35.