What's the Medicare Part D Late Enrollment Penalty?

The Medicare Enrollment Period Period will be here in less than ninety days. Take a moment now to consider the impact of the late enrollment period and specifically the penalty on your prescription drugs. 

The late enrollment penalty is an amount added to your Medicare Part D premium. 

You may owe a late enrollment penalty if, at any time after your initial enrollment period is over, there's a period of 63 or more days in a row when you don't have Part D or other creditable prescription drug coverage. 

You must learn how to avoid the late enrollment penalty. Please note, if you get Extra Help, you don't pay the late enrollment penalty.

How much is the Part D penalty?

The cost of the late enrollment penalty depends on how long you went without creditable prescription drug coverage. The late enrollment penalty is calculated by multiplying 1% of the "national base beneficiary premium" times the number of full, uncovered months you were eligible but didn't join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan and went without other creditable prescription drug coverage. 

The final amount is rounded to the nearest $.10 and added to your monthly premium. The national base beneficiary premium may increase each year, so the penalty amount may also increase each year.

How will you know if you owe a penalty?

Your plan will tell you if you owe a penalty. After you join a Medicare drug plan, the plan will tell you if you owe a penalty, and what your premium will be. You may have to pay this penalty for as long as you have a Medicare drug plan. If you had to pay a Part D late enrollment penalty before you turned 65, the penalty will be waived once you reach 65.


Do you have any Medicare questions or comments, leave them below.