Forever, except for a few situations. The
late-enrollment premium penalty is permanent for most people over 65 and you will pay the penalty as long as you are enrolled in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (or a Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage or MAPDs).
However, if you are under 65 and eligible for Medicare due to a disability, you will have a second chance to join a Medicare prescription drug plan when you turn 65 (during your Initial Enrollment Period) and if you join a Medicare drug plan at this time, you will move forward
without the penalty.
Also, if you are eligible, or become eligible for the Medicare Part D financial Extra Help or
Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program, you will not pay a late-enrollment penalty.
Suggestion: If you are using no medications and are in good health, consider enrolling in a
Medicare Part D plan with a low monthly premium and avoid a possible long-term penalty - or consider a
Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage and has a low or $0 premium.
And now the bad news: How a late-enrollment penalty accumulates over time
If you were eligible for Medicare Part D plan coverage back in January 2006
and never joined a Medicare Part D plan
and are not eligible for the Extra Help (or Medicare LIS) program
and
have been without any other creditable prescription drug coverage (such
as employer or VA coverage) since the start of the Medicare Part D
program (211 months including all of 2023),
then you would have a monthly late-enrollment penalty for of around
$73.20 in 2024 – paid in addition to your monthly Medicare Part D plan premium.
This means you would pay an additional
$878 over the course of the year.
We calculated the maximum penalty as (211 months without some form
of creditable drug coverage) * (1% of $34.70 which is the 2024 annual
Medicare Part D base premium) = $73.217 rounded to the nearest $0.10,
so this person's 2024 late-enrollment penalty is $73.20 per month.
The ever-increasing "cost of waiting" to enroll in a Medicare Part D plan.
You can read more and see how the "value of waiting" to join a Medicare
plan balances against paying a permanent late-enrollment penalty in our
article:
Q1FAQ.com/590
You can also read more about the late-enrollment premium penalty in our Medicare News section: "
Late Enrollment Penalty".