Starting January 1, 2023, the start dates for Medicare Part B coverage will change. Coverage will start the first day of the month after a person signs up if they sign up during the last three months of their Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) or during the General Enrollment Period (GEP).

Before this change, if you signed up during the last three months of their IEP, their Medicare Part B coverage started two to three months after they enrolled. If you didn’t sign up for Medicare Part B during IEP, you have another chance every year during GEP which runs from January 1 through March 31.

What is not changing:

If you are eligible at age 65 for Medicare, your IEP will still:

• begin three months before their 65th birthday.
• include the month of their 65th birthday.
• end three months after their 65th birthday.

If you are automatically enrolled in Medicare Part B, or if you sign up during the first three months of their IEP, your coverage will start the month you’re first eligible. If you sign up the month that you turn 65, your coverage will start the first day of the following month. This will not change with the new rule.

You can learn more about these updates on our Medicare webpage at http://www.ssa.gov/medicare and the Medicare publication at http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10043.pdf