The Alvin Sun (Alvin, Tex.), Vol. 129, No. 1, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 6, 2019 Page: 3 of 8
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Let’s talk
Medicare
by Toni King
Carla:
number of
r
7
/
f
V
J
Government Access
Recognizing St.
John's Lodge
DONNA HOPKINS - officemanager@alvinsun.net
STEPHEN COLLINS - sportseditor@alvinsun.net
JOSHUA TRUKSA - reporter@alvinsun.net
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Commissioners Court recognized and congratulated St.
John's Lodge #5 on its 180th year anniversary during
Commissioners Court recently. St. John's Lodge #5 (Mason
of the Republic of Texas) was established Dec. 2,1838. From
left are: Sheriff Charles Wagner; Constable Willie Howell;
Commissioner David Linder, Pct. 4; Commissioner Stacy
Adams, Pct. 3; Constable James Brawner; County Judge
Matt Sebesta; Ron Obenhaus; accepting proclamation Don
Williams; Commissioner Dude Payne, Pct. 1; Scott Leopold;
Commissioner Ryan Cade, Pct. 2; and Michael Bailey.
(Courtesy photos)
not easy!
• Call the Toni Says office at
832-519-8664 or email info@
tonisays.com for assistance.
• Next week, the discussion
is what information will be
needed to enroll in Medicare
online turning 65.
DAVID RUPKALVIS
publisher@alvinsun.net
U.S. Senator
John Cornyn
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510-5922
(202) 224-2934
5300 Memorial Drive, Suite 980
Houston, TX 77007
(713) 572-3337
Fax: 202-228-2856
cornyn.senate.gov/public/
President
Donald Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500
(202) 456-1414
comments@whitehouse.gov
U.S. Senator
Ted Cruz
B40B Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D. C. 20510
(202) 224-5922
Governor
Greg Abbott
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711
Info and Referral:
800-843-5789
Opinions: 800-252-9600
governor.state.tx.us/contact
U.S. Representative
Randy Weber Dist. 14
1708 Longworth
House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-2831
weber.house.gov
U.S. Representative
Pete Olson Dist. 22
2133 Rayburn
House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-5951
6302 W. Broadway, Ste. 220
Pearland, TX 77581
281-485-4855
olson.house.gov
State Senator
Larry Taylor Dist. 11
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0111
174 Calder Rd. Ste. 151
League City, TX 77573
281-332-0003
State Representative
Dennis Bonnen
Room CAP 1W.6, Capitol
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
(512) 463-0564
122 E. Myrtle
Angleton, TX 77515
(979) 848-1770
dennis.bonnen@ house.state.tx.us
State Representative
Ed Thompson Dist 29
1400 N. Congress Ave., E2.506
Austin, TX 78701
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768-2910
(512) 463-0707
ed.thompson@house.state.tx.us
ALVIN SUN, January 6, 2019, Page 3
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By Bob Moos
Southwest public affairs officer
for the U.S. Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid
Services
570 Dula Street, Alvin, Texas 77511 • (281) 331-4421
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without the express consent of the management.
You should do this during
what’s called your “initial
enrollment period,” which runs
from three months before the
month you turn 65 to three
months after your birthday
month.
For example, if your 65th
birthday is in September, you
can sign up any time from June
1 until Dec. 31.
There’s also the question of
whether you’ll need to enroll in
Medicare’s prescription drug
coverage, also known as Part D,
when you turn 65 or whether
you can put off that decision.
Again, you should consult
with your company’s benefits
manager.
If your employer plan includes
drug coverage that’s at least
comparable to Part D coverage,
you won’t need to sign up right
tj
1
Is the maze of Medicare
confusing you? Visit www.
abbs4u.com and attend ABBS
(American Baby Boomer
Society) Medicare courses for
more Medicare education.
With budget problems, Social
Security discovered two years
ago how much payroll or should
I say “our” tax dollars could be
saved by finally going online to
have people file for their
Medicare cards when they were
turning 65 and not receiving
their Social Security check.
You ask, what does a Social
Security check have to do with
me receiving my Medicare
card? I have been filing taxes for
years.
Remember, nothing is easy
with a government system and
enrolling in Medicare is no
different. Unless you are
receiving your Social Security
check at least 90 days prior to
turning 65, then Medicare has
no idea that you are turning 65
and should be receiving your
Medicare card with Parts A and/
or B because Social Security
doesn’t know that you are
turning 65. Social Security
processes all Medicare
applications for Medicare.
Medicare does not enroll their
own applications.
Carla, you mentioned that you
are not receiving your Social
Security check, not working full
time with true company benefits
and that Social Security advised
Happy New Year from Toni
and the Toni Says® team with a
$5 discount on the Medicare
Survival Guide® Advanced
book and bundle packages for
the Toni Says® newspaper
article readers at www.tonisays.
com.
I
' I
■-A. '
away.
When you do finally stop
working, you’ll be able to enroll
in Medicare (Parts A or B)
without risking a late penalty
during a special eight-month
enrollment period. You’ll also
have two months to select a
Medicare drug plan without a
penalty.
To learn more about how your
employer health plan works
with Medicare, visitwww.
medicare.gov/publications and
view the booklet “Medicare and
Other Health Benefits: Your
Guide to Who Pays First.” Or
call 800-633-4227 to request a
free copy.
Understanding how your
insurance choices fit together as
you continue working beyond
65 will help you get the best
care for your dollars.
Medicare's new online application confuses those turning 65
Hi Toni:
I am turning 65 in March and
called Social Security for help
with enrolling in Medicare. I
was surprised when Social
Security told me to go online to
sign up. They did not want me to
go to the Social Security office
to sign up and that I now need to
start a “My Social Security
Account” to begin the process.
I am concerned that if I go
online, I will have to begin
receiving my Social Security
check. I retired in 2016 and
want to not begin my Social
Security check until I am 70.
Can you please explain in
simple terms where to go online,
so that I can enroll in Medicare
the right way? Thanks in
advance,
Carla from Arizona
you to enroll online. The best
timeline is 90 days prior to
turning 65 to the month prior to
your 65th birthday and you
should visit www.ssa.gov/
benefits/medicare to enroll for
Medicare to begin the 1 st day of
the month you turn 65.
When you begin the process
of enrolling in Medicare, Social
Security will ask if you have a
“My Social Security account”.
If you do have a “My Social
Security account”:
• Please have your user
name and password handy to
begin your Medicare enrollment
in Parts A and/or B application.
If you don’t have a “My
Social Security Account”:
• Carla starting a “My Social
Security Account” does not
begin your Social Security
check.
• Please register yourself
Security check.
Then, too, a
60-something workers continue
to pursue their careers because
they can’t afford to retire. Still
others simply prefer to stay
engaged and on the job.
Whatever the reason for
postponing your retirement, you
still need to consider Medicare
as you approach your 65th
birthday and qualify for the
health care coverage.
First, you should visit with
your company’s human
resources manager to determine
how your employer-provided
insurance will fit with Medicare.
That’s also true for anyone
turning 65 and receiving health
care through a working spouse’s
group plan.
Most workers will want to
sign up for Medicare’s Part A,
.-M
20 ■ JO
Working past 65? Here's what to know about Medicare
If your or your working
spouse’s company has 20 or
more employees, your employer-
provided insurance will remain
your primary coverage and will
pay your bills first. You can
delay enrolling in Part B until
you stop working.
If you or your spouse’s
company has fewer than 20
workers, Medicare will become
your primary coverage, and
your employer coverage will be
secondary, so you should sign
up for Part B.
Assuming that you’re not yet
receiving Social Security
benefits, you’ll need to enroll in
Medicare by contacting Social
Security at 800-772-1213 or
www.socialsecurity.gov.
Completing the online
application is fairly simple and
typically takes 10 to 30 minutes.
and your spouse now for a “My
Social Security Account”
months before applying for
Medicare to be prepared when
you are ready to apply when
turning 65 and need to apply for
both Medicare Parts A and/or B
with an account by visiting
www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
• You should know your
credit history because Social
Security will pull credit
information from your credit
history to verify that this
information is unique to only
your and/or your spouse’s credit
file. Don’t worry this confuses
many.
• Can’t open a “My Social
Security Account” then you may
need to call Social Security at
1-800-772-1213 or visit your
local Social Security office for
help. This system stops those
with the highest education. It is
If you plan to work past 65
and keep the health insurance
you’ve had from your job,
you’re likely to wonder what, if
anything, you need to do about
enrolling in Medicare.
About one in six older
Americans now remains in the
workforce beyond what was
once the traditional retirement
age. And the number of older
workers will only grow over
time.
One reason is that Social
Security now requires you to be
at least 66 to collect your full
retirement benefits. Retiring
earlier means a smaller Social
which usually has no monthly
premium and covers hospital
stays, skilled nursing, home
health services and hospice care.
Of course, like most rules of
thumb, there’s always an
exception. And this one is no
different.
If your employer coverage
takes the form of a high-
deductible insurance plan with a
health savings account, you
should defer enrolling in Part A.
That’s because the Internal
Revenue Service forbids you to
continue contributing to your
tax-advantaged savings account
once you have Medicare.
When you sign up for
Medicare’s Part B, which covers
doctor appointments and other
outpatient services, mostly
depends on how large your
employer is.
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The Alvin Sun (Alvin, Tex.), Vol. 129, No. 1, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 6, 2019, newspaper, January 6, 2019; Alvin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1246271/m1/3/?q=%22~1~1%22~1&rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Alvin Community College.