If you want to reduce stress in your life as you approach entering Medicare, you should consider making a detailed plan for your enrollment. By starting with the basics of Medicare, especially the details about eligibility and entry, you can give yourself the confidence you need to enroll stress-free. To give you a hand, we’ve written this short guide to the Minnesota Medicare eligibility rules.

Minnesota Medicare Eligibility Requirements For Parts A And B

Since Original Medicare, Parts A and B, are necessary in order to add any of the private coverages available, we’ll start off by looking at the eligibility rules for Original Medicare.

It’s very easy to gain eligibility for Medicare; if you’re a citizen or permanent legal resident, you are eligible to participate at some point in time. The timing of your entry is governed by four triggering events:

• Turning 65
• Receiving certain federal disability income for 24 consecutive months
• Being diagnosed with ESRD
• Being diagnosed with ALS

If you get to enter Medicare because of the illness or disability triggers, you can actually enter at any age, even years before you turn 65.

In most cases, however, you can expect to get the chance to enroll when you turn 65 years old. If this is the case for you, your manner of entry into the program will depend on two factors:

• Whether you plan to keep working and remain covered by your employer’s health insurance
• Whether you will be receiving Social Security retirement income by the time you turn 65

In the first case, you can safely delay taking Part B if you’ll still be covered by your employer plan as long as your employer has at least 20 employees. If your employer coverage is cheaper or more comprehensive than Medicare, you can choose to delay Part B and save money each month. Whenever your employer coverage comes to an end, you’ll have a Special Enrollment Period during which you can get Part B without paying a late enrollment penalty.

If you want to enroll right at 65, your enrollment will be automatic if you’re already receiving Social Security when you turn 65. If you’re holding off on Social Security, then you will need to manually enroll in Parts A and B.

As soon as you’re squared away with your Part A and B enrollment, you can move on to enrolling in the private Medicare plan of your choice.

Minnesota Medicare Eligibility Requirements For Medicare Supplement Insurance

Medicare Supplement Insurance is a popular addition to Original Medicare. Medicare Supplement Insurance covers many of the costs that you’d normally be expected to pay under the terms of Part A and Part B.

To get Medicare Supplement Insurance, you have to be actively enrolled in both Parts A and B. In many states, you also have to be at least 65 years old. However, Minnesota is a state with strong consumer protections for Medicare Beneficiaries. In Minnesota, you can easily get Medicare Supplement Insurance if you enter Medicare before age 65. Not only that, but Minnesota also limits how much insurance companies can charge people who are under 65. These rules mean that if you meet the Minnesota Medicare eligibility requirements before age 65, you’ll have many good options for supplementing your Medicare benefits.