Do Veterans Have to Sign Up for Medicare?

If you are a veteran who receives healthcare services through the VA do you need to sign up for Medicare? The short answer is that no one must sign up for Medicare, but it is highly advised. Many veterans feel they are receiving care through the VA that meets all their needs, and they do not want to bother with the hassle of adding additional insurance to their health coverage. What they fail to consider is that in life, things can change and there may come a time when you wish you enrolled in Medicare.

Part A Medicare is insurance that you prepaid through most of your adult life and there is no monthly premium for having it. Part B Medicare has a monthly premium, but in CT some programs can reduce or eliminate the premium for many people. Maybe you!

Why would a Vet who uses the VA system ever need Medicare? The answer is too long and complex for this space but to name a few reasons, you might be traveling one day and become sick and there is no VA hospital nearby, but there are Medicare facilities, and they will want to see your Medicare card. You may have a condition that qualifies you for full VA coverage for your health care needs due to service-related issues, but as you know, that status is regularly reviewed, and you might not qualify at the same level of benefit and lose some of your coverage. If you did not sign up for Medicare when you were eligible, you can still sign up at that time, but you will pay a higher premium, and you will pay that increase for life. If you are in Tricare, they require you to sign up for Medicare as soon as you are eligible or you lose your Tricare benefit. Additionally, there are some services Medicare provides that the VA does not.

Adding Medicare coverage to your health insurance package is a benefit to which you are probably entitled. If the cost of the part B premium is an issue, contact CHOICES 800-9949422 and ask to talk to a counselor to see if you are eligible to have the monthly premium waived. Just because you add Medicare to your coverage does not mean you have to stop using the VA health system. It just means that if you ever need to go outside the system for something that is not covered, you have an extra bit of protection.