Beneficiaries Newly Enrolled in Part B Effective July 1. 2012

In my blog I discussed all the enrollment periods available to those who are Medicare beneficiaries, and noted that if you signed up for Part B in the general enrollment period (which ended March 31), you would get your Medicare Part B yesterday, July 1, and that you should have started making your appointments for the many preventative services you will now be able to get. But if you haven’t done that, and waited to get your Part B first, don’t hesitate, start making your appointments now. If you bought Managing Your Medicare, you can use the link on the CD ROM to get to my full explanations of all the exams, preventative services, and behavioral interventions available to you in 2012, many of which are free, and all of which are covered under Part B. To keep things as simple as possible (Nothing is simple in Medicare!), there are separate explanations for men and women, and, within each gender, by age category (65 and older, 50 to 65, and under 50). And remember that some services can be obtained only after you’ve received another; for example, the aortic screening is covered only if prescribed during your Welcome to Medicare visit, so plan these out.

By the way, I have taken down my blog about all the various 2012 enrollment periods as all have expired as of June 30, but will repost an updated one as we go into the Annual Open Enrollment Period (sometimes called the Fall Open Enrollment Period), which begins October 15, 2012 for calendar year 2013.


Keywords: Preventative Services Part B Enrollment