Your Medicare path
Here's what happens, what you need to decide, and when. One step at a time.
Step 1
It depends on your situation. If you're already receiving Social Security benefits, you'll be enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B automatically, and your card usually arrives about 3 months before your 65th birthday. If you're not receiving Social Security yet, you'll need to sign up yourself. If you're still working and covered by an employer plan, you may be able to wait. That's worth a conversation before you decide.
Step 2
Part A is hospital insurance. Part B covers doctors and outpatient care. Together they're called Original Medicare, and they're the foundation everything else builds on.
Step 3
Your Initial Enrollment Period () is a 7-month window: the 3 months before your birthday month, your birthday month, and the 3 months after. Signing up at the start of the window helps your coverage begin without a gap.
Enter your birth month and year
Nothing you enter here is stored.
Step 4
Most people choose between two paths: Original Medicare with a Medicare Supplement plan (and a Part D drug plan), or a Medicare Advantage plan that bundles everything together. Neither one is right for everyone. It depends on your doctors, your budget, and how you like to use your healthcare.
Path 1
Original Medicare
Path 2
Medicare Advantage (Part C)
You can't have a Medicare Supplement and a Medicare Advantage plan at the same time.
Step 5
Even if you don't take medications today, going without drug coverage can mean a late enrollment penalty later.
Step 6
Downloadable turning-65 checklist
Coming soon
Step 8
Bring your questions, your current coverage, and your list of doctors and prescriptions. We'll walk through your options together in person, by phone, or virtually. There's never a charge to use our services or an obligation to enroll.
