Social Security
Sign up for Part A and Part B, ask about your window, apply for Extra Help.
1-800-772-1213www.ssa.gov/medicareOperated by HealthBenefitsCompass LLC, a subsidiary of HealthcareGPS Inc.Medicare education · Not a government websiteReviewed by Lauri Middleton, RN, MSN (licensed Medicare agent) and Karen OrillaHow we prepare our guidance →Meet our reviewers →
New to Medicare?
Start with your dates. Everything else follows.
Tell us the month and year you were born and whether you still have coverage through work. We draw your enrollment windows, then walk you through the five decisions in the order you actually have to make them.
First-Time Medicare · A useful next step
Your first steps. In the right order.
Start with the decision in front of you: enrolling, leaving work coverage, or helping someone begin.
01
Start Medicare with a clear sequence
A first-enrollment checklist you can take to Social Security.
Prepare my next step 02Coordinate Medicare and work coverage
Questions for the benefits office and Social Security.
Prepare my next step 03Help someone with their Medicare
An agreed question and a respectful way to join the call.
Prepare my next stepNo account or personal details needed. Prefer to talk with someone?
The 5 decisions
The five decisions, in order
Medicare is easier when the decisions are taken in sequence. Each one explains what it is, applies it to the calendar above, says what changes if you wait, gives you the questions to ask a real person, and records where you stand.
- Enroll now, or delay?Do I sign up for Part B in my first window, or wait because I have coverage from work?Not yet
- Original Medicare, or Medicare Advantage?Do I assemble coverage from pieces, or take one bundled private plan?Not yet
- Drug coverageWhere will my prescriptions be covered, and by when?Not yet
- Medigap — on the Original path onlyDo I add a Medigap policy to cover the 20 %, and which letter?Not yet
- Help with costsIs there a public program that could lower what I pay?Not yet
One picture
Medicare in one picture
Two ways to put coverage together. Choose one, then add or remove the Original Medicare add-ons and watch what changes in the wallet, the monthly bills, the doctors and the yearly cap.
Original Medicare — assembled from pieces
In your wallet 1
Monthly billsPart B premium
DoctorsAny doctor in the U.S. who accepts Medicare
Yearly capNo yearly cap on your 20 %
PrescriptionsNot covered — the 63-day count applies
The simplest start, but a bad year has no ceiling without Medigap.
Get help
Connect with real people, free, who do not sell anything.
1-800-MEDICARE
Questions about what is covered, plan finder help, your Medicare account.
1-800-633-4227www.medicare.govSHIP — free counseling in your state
A trained counselor who does not sell anything: plan comparisons, Medigap rules in your state, help with applications.
1-877-839-2675www.shiphelp.org