California Medicare Guidance
Learn
Sixty-second answers to the questions people actually ask. Each ends with the tool that applies it to you.
Do I have to take Part B at 65?
Not always — but delaying without the right kind of coverage costs extra for life. If you or a spouse have coverage from a current employer …
Learn →Is Medicare Advantage really free?
Some plans have a $0 monthly premium, but you still pay the Part B premium, and you pay copays or coinsurance each time you use care, up to …
Learn →What is Medigap?
Medigap — Medicare Supplement insurance — is a private policy that pays some of what Original Medicare leaves for you to pay, such as the 20…
Learn →What happens to my HSA when I sign up for Medicare?
You keep the money and can still spend it on medical costs — including Medicare premiums. What stops is new contributions: once any part of …
Learn →What is the Part B late-enrollment penalty?
If you sign up for Part B after your first window without qualifying job-based coverage in between, Medicare adds 10% to your monthly Part B…
Learn →What is the Annual Notice of Change, and what should I look for?
Medicare Advantage and drug plans send an Annual Notice of Change by September 30 describing changes for January 1. Use it with current plan…
Learn →Can I change plans after December 7?
Sometimes. If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one more change between January 1 and March 31 — to another Medicare Advantage p…
Learn →What is Extra Help, and how do I get it?
Extra Help is a Medicare program for people with limited income that pays most of the Part D premium and deductible and caps each prescripti…
Learn →Does California have a Medigap birthday rule?
Yes. If you already have a Medigap policy, California gives you a window every year starting on your birthday — at least 60 days — to switch…
Learn →Can I get Medigap under 65 in California?
Often, yes — and that is not true everywhere. Federal law does not guarantee Medigap to people under 65, but California requires insurers to…
Learn →Why is my Part B premium higher than my neighbor’s?
Probably IRMAA — an income-related amount Social Security adds to Part B and Part D premiums when your income two years ago was above a thre…
Learn →What is a Special Enrollment Period?
A window outside the normal ones that certain events create. The most common: when coverage from your own or a spouse’s current job ends, yo…
Learn →Medicare at a glance
One page: the four parts, the two paths, the windows, the penalties, and the free help numbers. Dated, so you know when it was current.
Glossary
Plain words for the terms Medicare uses.
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Free Medicare counseling
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California HICAP1-800-MEDICARE
Call 1-800-MEDICARE and ask for an interpreter. TTY: 1-877-486-2048.
Call Medicare · 1-800-633-4227Official information in other languages ↗External resource. Some pages are in English; ask for language assistance if needed.