Effective Tuesday, May 26, 2020, based on the collaborative efforts between the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and SSA, the new online process for handling Medicare Part B, enrollment became available online. The online process provides beneficiaries the option to complete the Medicare enrollment forms under an Special Election Period for SSA to process. The online Medicare Part B SEP enrollment link www.ssa.gov/Medicare-PartB-SEP will be available on both SSA and CMS websites effective Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Once the beneficiary completes the online enrollment forms, the forms will automatically transmitted to the SSA Field Office of jurisdiction.
Eligibility Requirements
You must be covered under a group health plan (GHP) based on youir own or a spouse’s current employment status, or covered under a large group health plan (LGHP), and the coverage must be based on his or her own, or a family member’s current employment status.
- Enrollment Rules:
– You can enroll during any month (including a partial month) in which you are enrolled in a GHP or an LGHP based on current employment status, or
– in any of the 8 consecutive months following the last month, during any part of which, the individual was enrolled in the GHP based on current employment status,
You must complete the CMS-40B enrollment form, paper or online to request enrollment. In addition, you must complete the CMS-L564 form, paper or online.
- The Form CMS-L564 has two sections:
– Section A – the applicant completes Section A.
– Section B – the employer, the GHP or LGHP completes Section B of the form. The information in Section B provides evidence of GHP or LGHP coverage and dates of employment.
Note When completing the CMS L564
- State on the form “I want Part B coverage to begin (MM/YY)”
- If possible, your employer should complete Section B.
- If your employer is unable to complete Section B, please complete that portion on behalf of your employer without your employers signature and submit one of the following forms of secondary evidence:
- income tax form that shows health insurance premiums paid;
- W-2s reflecting pre-tax medical contributions;
- pay stubs that reflect health insurance premium deductions;
- health insurance cards with a policy effective date;
- explanations of benefits paid by the GHP or LGHP; or
- statements or receipts that reflect payment of health insurance premiums
Online Enrollment Guidelines
The online enrollment process will require beneficiaries to complete the CMS-40B, CMS-L564 (one combined online application), and submit any required evidence during one online session.
NOTE: The online enrollment process does not offer beneficiaries the option to save and revisit the application.
- Failure to complete and submit the correct documentation may result in a delay in processing the Medicare enrollment.
- If the beneficiary fails to complete the forms or submit the correct evidence, Field Offices should follow normal business process and develop for the missing information.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS is waiving the wet signature requirement; however, the online option will require beneficiaries to provide an eSignature (digital signature) and a valid email address.
Beneficiaries can check to see if the Part B is active by checking their MySocialSecurity or MyMedicare accounts. For updates, see the Social Security Coronavirus web page as well as the Information for Groups page.