Theresa Cangemi, CSA, CLTC
Medicare Specialist and
Independent Agent
Owner of
"Medicare Made Simple, LLC™"
Business Cell:
315-727-4933
An interview with Paula about Medicare preventative services
How Medicare Part B pays for a colonoscopy under Preventative Services.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Medicare
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are accounts for individuals with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). Funds contributed to an HSA are not taxed when put into the HSA or when taken out, as long as they are used to pay for qualified medical expenses. Your employer may oversee your HSA, or you may have an individual HSA that is overseen by a bank, credit union, or insurance company.
If you have an HSA and will soon be eligible for Medicare, it is important to understand how enrolling in Medicare will affect your HSA.
High-deductible health plans
In order to qualify to put money into an HSA, you must be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan. HDHPs have large deductibles that members must meet before receiving coverage. This means HDHP members pay in full for most health care services until they reach their deductible for the year. Afterwards, the HDHP covers all the member’s costs for the remainder of the year.
Enrolling in Medicare when you have an HSA
If you enroll in Medicare Part A and/or B, you can no longer contribute pre-tax dollars to your HSA. This is because to contribute pre-tax dollars to an HSA you cannot have any health insurance other than an HDHP. The month your Medicare begins, your account overseer should change your contribution to your HSA to zero dollars per month. However, you may continue to withdraw money from your HSA after you enroll in Medicare to help pay for medical expenses, such as deductibles, premiums, copayments, and coinsurances. If you use the account for qualified medical expenses, its funds will continue to be tax-free.
Whether you should delay enrollment in Medicare so you can continue contributing to your HSA depends on your circumstances. If you work for an employer with fewer than 20 employees, you may need Medicare in order to have primary insurance, even though you will lose the tax advantages of your HSA. This is because health coverage from employers with fewer than 20 employees pays secondary to Medicare. If you work at this kind of employer and fail to enroll in Medicare, you may have little or no health coverage because your health plan does not have to pay until after Medicare pays. Health coverage from an employer with 20 or more employees pays primary to Medicare, so you may choose to delay Medicare enrollment if you work at this kind of employer and continue putting funds into your HSA.
Note: In either case, you have access to the Part B Special Enrollment Period (SEP) when you lose coverage or retire.
If you choose to delay Medicare enrollment because you are still working and want to continue contributing to your HSA, you must also wait to collect Social Security retirement benefits. This is because most individuals who are collecting Social Security benefits when they become eligible for Medicare are automatically enrolled into Medicare Part A. You cannot decline Part A while collecting Social Security benefits. The takeaway here is that you should delay Social Security benefits and decline Part A if you wish to continue contributing funds to your HSA.
Finally, if you decide to delay enrolling in Medicare, make sure to stop contributing to your HSA at least six months before you do plan to enroll in Medicare. This is because when you enroll in Medicare Part A, you receive up to six months of retroactive coverage, not going back farther than your initial month of eligibility. If you do not stop HSA contributions at least six months before Medicare enrollment, you may incur a tax penalty.
If you require counseling around HSAs, consult a tax professional.
This article was originally published at MedicareInteractive.org
Medicare Myth: “I can enroll any time I want to”
Medicare Myth: “ I can enroll any time I want to”
The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is just around the corner. AEP happens annual, October 15 th to December 7 th , and is approximately a six week time frame when you can change your Medicare plan. The new plan selected during AEP will take effect January 1 st of the following year.
There are other opportunities to enroll in Medicare, for example, when you are new to Medicare at age 65 or due to a disability or certain illnesses. Another opportunity to enroll in Medicare is when you leave your employers group health insurance plan (at age 65 or older). There are qualifying opportunities to change your Medicare plan outside the Annual or Open Enrollment Period (AEP) and SOME of the opportunities are if you have EPIC, Extra Help, Medicaid. List is NOT an all inclusive list.
WARNING: This is NOT an all inclusive summary of your Medicare options and enrollment periods. This is a brief description to start a conversation and awareness of the upcoming AEP/Open enrollment period. Call for more information and questions that pertain directly to your specific situation.
Medicare Coverage For Travel Outside the United States
Did you know that traveling outside of the United States will cause for limited Medicare Coverage?
Click here to see a helpful fact sheet from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that breaks down the intricacies of Medicare’s limitations overseas!
Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions, you can email me by clicking here!
Single Payor System vs. Private Market Health Care System: VIDEO
Don’t miss this! If you were on the fence about a single payor system versus a private market health care system, you need to watch this!
Found on NAHU.org: “Truth or Consequences—the Beth Ashmore Chronicle” demonstrates through the personal experiences of Beth Ashmore and her mother why the purported advantages of a single-payer health care system are really myths. The video offers real world evidence of the inadequacies of the single payer concept versus the quality and expediency of our current private market health care system.
(CLICK THE PHOTO TO WATCH)