Mr. E did not enroll in Part B when he was eligible because a Social Security staff person told him he did not need to.

Problem: 
Mr. E became eligible for Medicare when he turned 65 in 2004. At the time, a Social Security representative told him that he did not need to enroll in Part B. A few years later, Mr. E suffered from a stroke. Because he was not enrolled in Part B, he accumulated $40,000 in doctor bills. His wife tried to enroll Mr. E in Part B, but she was informed that he would have to wait for the General Enrollment Period to get coverage that would start the following July and that he would have to pay high Part B premium penalties.

What To Do:

Mr. E appealed to Social Security to be enrolled retroactively in Part B based on the fact that he had received false information from a Social Security representative. Fortunately, Mr. E had kept a record of his conversation with the Social Security representative in 2004 and was therefore able to give the name of the representative he spoke with. Upon investigation, Social Security decided in favor of Mr. E and enrolled him retroactively in Part B. His doctor then submitted his claims to Medicare Part B. Although Mr. E had to pay retroactive Part B premiums back to 2004 with no Part B penalty, this amount was far less than his unpaid medical bills.

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