Medicare premium confusion - will I be double-charged for January coverage?

I went through this EXACT situation last year! You do NOT need to pay that separate bill. When your SS benefits kick in, Medicare will automatically be deducted from your payment for that month's coverage. The problem is their systems don't talk to each other well, so Medicare billing doesn't always know right away that you're starting SS benefits. Call Medicare directly (not Social Security) at 1-800-MEDICARE and tell them your SS benefits are starting in February and the premium will be deducted then. They should cancel that bill. I ignored mine and ended up with a mess to fix later!

Thank you! I'll try calling Medicare directly tomorrow. Did you have any problems with your coverage continuing when you ignored the bill? I'm worried about losing coverage if I don't pay something.

my mom got those 2 bills to. she paid the first 1 and then social security took it out anyway and it took 4 months to get the money back so dont pay it

Oh no! That's exactly what I'm worried about. Did she have to do anything special to get the refund, or did they eventually figure it out on their own?

This is a common issue when transitioning to having Medicare premiums deducted from Social Security benefits. Here's what you need to understand:1. Your February Social Security payment (received in February for January) will include a deduction for January's Medicare premium.2. The separate bill you received is essentially requesting the same payment, and paying both would result in duplicate payment.3. You should contact the Medicare Premium Collection Center at 1-800-Medicare (1-800-633-4227) to explain that your premiums will be deducted from Social Security beginning with your February payment (for January coverage).4. Request that they note your account accordingly and confirm you should disregard the separate bill.5. Document the date of your call, the representative's name, and any confirmation number provided.This coordination issue between SSA and Medicare happens frequently during the transition period. Your Medicare coverage will remain active as long as one of the payment methods goes through.

This is right. I had same problem last year an it was a mess. Be sure to write down who u talk to and when u call. The confirmation # is important so u dont lose coverage

If you're trying to reach Social Security about this issue but can't get through after long holds, you might want to try Claimyr (claimyr.com). They helped me get through to SSA in about 15 minutes instead of the 3+ hours I was waiting before. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. I used them when I had a similar premium issue and needed to talk to someone quickly before my payment deadline. Saved me a ton of stress!

Thanks for the suggestion! I hadn't heard of this service before. Did you find the SSA representatives were able to actually help with the Medicare billing issue, or should I still try calling Medicare directly first?

Definitely try Medicare first since they handle the billing, but if they tell you it's an SSA issue (which happened in my case), then Claimyr helped me get through to SSA without the ridiculous wait. The SSA rep was able to confirm exactly when my deductions would start and sent something to Medicare to update their system.

Sorry to butt in but can I ask a related question? I'm starting Medicare next month but delaying SS benefits until my FRA in July. Will I have to manually pay all the Medicare premiums until then or can they somehow still deduct from future benefits? The whole Medicare/SS coordination process is SO confusing!

When you're enrolled in Medicare but not yet receiving Social Security benefits, you'll need to pay your Medicare premiums directly until your Social Security benefits begin. Once your Social Security benefits start in July, you can request that Medicare premiums be deducted from those payments going forward. Medicare will send you quarterly bills (unless you set up monthly payments) during the interim period. You can pay these bills online through Medicare Easy Pay, by mail, or by setting up automatic bank drafts.

You know what really grinds my gears about this whole system?! SSA and Medicare operate like they've never heard of each other! They're BOTH government agencies! Why can't their computer systems talk to each other?? I went through THREE MONTHS of duplicate payments before someone fixed it for me. And no one apologized! The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing. Classic government inefficiency. Just wait until you try to get that refund...I hope you like paperwork and being on hold!

That sounds incredibly frustrating! Did you eventually get your refund for the duplicate payments? How long did it take?

Yes, finally got it after 4 months and SEVEN phone calls. Each time they told me

Update on your situation: I want to clarify something important. When you receive your first Social Security payment in February (which is for January), the Medicare premium deduction is actually for February coverage, not January as you mentioned. Medicare is paid in advance, while Social Security is paid in arrears. This means:1. The January bill you received is correct - it's for January coverage2. The deduction from your February Social Security payment is for February coverageSo you should pay the separate January bill. You won't be double-paying - they're for different months of coverage.

Oh! That makes more sense but now I'm even more confused. So I DO need to pay the January bill directly, and then my February SS payment will have the deduction for February coverage? Thank you for this clarification - the materials they sent weren't clear about this at all.

Yes, exactly. Pay the January bill directly for January coverage. Then your February Social Security payment will have the Medicare premium deduction for February coverage. Going forward, all premiums will just be automatically deducted from your monthly Social Security payments.

this whole thread made my head hurt lol im turning 65 next year and now im scared about dealing with all this stuff

Don't worry too much! Just apply for Medicare 3 months before you turn 65, and if you're already getting SS benefits the premiums will be deducted automatically. If not, just pay the bills they send until you start SS. It's confusing at first but becomes routine.

I'm a newcomer here but wanted to share my experience since I just went through this exact situation last month! I turned 65 in December and was so confused about the Medicare/SS coordination. What really helped me was calling Medicare first thing in the morning (around 8 AM) - the wait times were much shorter than calling SSA. The Medicare rep was able to see exactly when my SS deductions would start and updated their billing system on the spot. She also sent me a confirmation letter within a week showing the billing had been adjusted. One tip: when you call, have your Medicare card, SS award letter, and that bill handy - they'll want all those numbers to update your account properly. The whole call took about 20 minutes and saved me so much stress!

As someone who just went through the Medicare enrollment process myself, I wanted to add that it's also worth checking if your state has a SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) counselor available. They're free and can walk you through all these Medicare/Social Security coordination issues over the phone or in person. I found my local SHIP counselor through the Medicare.gov website, and she was incredibly knowledgeable about timing issues like this. She even helped me understand the difference between when Medicare coverage starts versus when premiums are due. It's a completely free service that more people should know about - they're not trying to sell you anything, just help you navigate the system. Might be worth looking into as a backup resource if the phone calls to Medicare don't go smoothly!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share what happened to me recently since it might help others avoid confusion. I'm 68 and just switched from paying Medicare premiums directly to having them deducted from my Social Security. The key thing I learned is that there's usually a 1-2 month lag between when you notify Medicare about the change and when their billing system actually stops sending you bills. Even after I called and they confirmed the change, I still got one more bill that I almost paid out of panic! The representative told me this is totally normal and to just ignore any bills that arrive after the deduction starts showing up on my SS statement. She said their billing system takes time to "catch up" with the changes. So for anyone in a similar transition period - don't panic if you get what seems like duplicate bills. Just make sure you have documentation of when you made the change request and confirmation numbers from your calls.

I'm new to this community and really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences! As someone turning 65 next year, this thread has been incredibly educational. One thing I wanted to add is that I've heard you can also set up a Medicare.gov account online to track your premium payments and see when deductions are scheduled to start/stop. Has anyone used the online portal to monitor these transitions? I'm wondering if it might give you a clearer picture of what's happening with your billing than trying to piece it together from phone calls and paper statements. Also, for those dealing with the SSA phone wait times, I've found that calling right when they open (usually 8am local time) or during lunch hours sometimes gets you through faster than mid-morning calls. Thanks to everyone who's shared their stories - it really helps those of us preparing for this process!