Turning 65 in Oklahoma: your Medicare checklist

6 months before you turn 65

• Write down your doctors, specialists, prescriptions, and preferred pharmacy.
• Ask your employer, or your spouse’s employer, whether group health coverage continues after 65 and how it works with Medicare.
• Create a my Social Security account at ssa.gov if you do not have one.
• Decide which questions you want answered in a free plan review.

3 months before your birthday month

• Your 7-month Initial Enrollment Period opens.
• If you already receive Social Security benefits, you are generally enrolled in Parts A and B automatically, and your Medicare card arrives in the mail.
• If you do not, sign up for Parts A and B at ssa.gov, by calling 1-800-772-1213, or at a Social Security office.
• Enrolling during these 3 months lets your coverage start on time.

Choose your coverage path

Most people choose one of two paths:

1. Original Medicare + a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) + a Part D drug plan. Broad access to any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare, with more predictable out-of-pocket costs and a higher monthly premium.
2. A Medicare Advantage plan. One plan that covers Parts A and B and usually drug coverage, generally through a provider network, often with lower monthly premiums and more cost-sharing when you use care.

See the full side-by-side comparison.

Deadlines that protect you

• Medigap Open Enrollment Period: 6 months that begin the first month you are both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During this window, companies generally cannot turn you down or charge you more because of your health.
• Part D: enroll when you first become eligible unless you have other creditable drug coverage, or you may owe a late-enrollment penalty.
• Part B: if you delay without qualifying employer coverage, the late-enrollment penalty is generally 10% for each full 12 months you could have had Part B, for as long as you have Part B.

Still working at 65?

If you have group health coverage through your own or your spouse’s current employment, you may be able to delay Part B without a penalty. When that employment or coverage ends, you have an 8-month Special Enrollment Period to sign up. Employer size affects the rules, so review your situation before you decide.

After you enroll

• Keep your Medicare card and plan ID cards together.
• Read your plan’s Annual Notice of Change each fall. Plans can change costs, networks, and covered drugs every year.
• Review your coverage during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 to December 7.

Free help in Oklahoma

Common questions