Some job-based insurance plans offer creditable drug coverage. If you are eligible for Medicare and enrolled in creditable coverage from your current employer, you can delay Part D enrollment without incurring a late enrollment penalty (LEP). When you decide to enroll in Part D, you will have a two-month Special Enrollment Period (SEP).
Even if your drug coverage is not creditable, you may want to keep it as a form of secondary insurance, and enroll in a Part D plan as primary insurance. Having secondary insurance may help lower the cost of Part D-covered drugs when you are in the coverage gap (donut hole). Contact your plan to learn whether it coordinates with Part D coverage. You should also consider whether the cost of your monthly premium for the plan is offset by the coverage it provides, or whether you are better off disenrolling and only keeping Part D.
In some plans, you cannot drop drug coverage without losing your health benefits or vice versa. Also keep in mind that your spouse or dependents are not eligible to use your Medicare coverage and may need other insurance if you drop your job-based insurance. Contact your benefits administrator to learn more about your job-based insurance before making Part D enrollment decisions.
If your drug coverage from current employment is not creditable, you can still delay enrollment into Part D. You will have the previously mentioned two-month SEP to enroll in a Part D plan. However, this SEP does not eliminate the Part D LEP. To avoid the LEP, you need to enroll in Part D when you are first eligible.
