Medicare is Specific to an Individual 

Today’s video is on a confusing topic that is often a surprise to people who’ve enjoyed coverage as a spouse or as part of a family, and that is that Medicare is always specific to an individual. This is true even if you haven’t earned premium-free Part A on your own work record but on a spouse’s work record.

Of course, a couple can be billed for a Medicare supplement together, but their accounts are still separate, and supplements are private insurance products, not Medicare benefits. Couples might also be on a retiree medical plan together, but that is because the retiree medical plan is group coverage.

Why is this important to understand?

Sometimes we see people enter both spouses’ drugs together when looking at the next year’s drug plan options, and that isn’t the proper approach. Some couples may wish to be enrolled in the same Medicare drug plan, but there are no billing or other efficiencies with that approach because the coverage is always separate.

More distressing, we had a client who paid Medicare Part B premiums for her and her husband together, which resulted in one of the spouses having their Medicare coverage terminated for non-payment, as Medicare has no ability to allocate funds from one check to multiple accounts. The situation was rectified, but it took a great deal of effort and stress. 

It’s easy to understand the confusion about this topic, but please remember that Medicare is specific to an individual. Thanks.