Page 32 - NASCO Appendices

Section 2—Signing up for Part A and Part B 27

I have coverage through a health savings
account (HSA)

What happens to my HSA when I sign up for Medicare?
You can’t contribute to your HSA once you’re enrolled in Medicare.
If you contribute to your HSA after your Medicare enrollment

date, you may have to pay a tax penalty. If you’d like to continue
contributing to your HSA, you shouldn’t apply for Medicare, Social
Security, or Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) benefits. Because
your enrollment date for Medicare (i.e., when your coverage starts
will generally be 6 months before your application date, you must
stop contributing to your HSA 6 months before applying for
Medicare.

Premium-free Part A coverage begins 6 months back from the date
you apply for Medicare (or Social Security/RRB benefits), but no
earlier than the first month you were eligible for Medicare.

To avoid a tax penalty, you should stop contributing to your HSA
at least 6 months before you apply for Medicare.

You can only enroll in Part B at certain times. If you have an HSA
Words in with a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) based on your or
blue are your spouse’s current employment, you may be eligible for a Special
defined Enrollment Period to enroll in Part B later without a lifetime
on pages late enrollment penalty. If you qualify, you can wait to enroll in
31–33. Medicare until you (or your spouse) stop working or lose your
employer group health plan coverage based on that employment.

You can withdraw money from your HSA after you enroll in
Medicare to help pay for medical expenses (like deductibles,
premiums, coinsurance, or copayments).