Medicare 2026

Medicare Part B and Part D deadlines in Juneau

JUNEAU, Alaska — For most people turning 65, Medicare is a welcome milestone. But two of its deadlines carry a sting that can follow you for the rest of your life: the sign-up windows for Part B (doctor visits and outpatient care) and Part D (prescription drugs). Miss them without a good reason, and you could pay a penalty every month for as long as you have coverage.

The good news? These penalties are avoidable once you know how the rules work.

Key takeaways

• The Part B late-enrollment penalty adds 10% to your monthly premium for every 12 months you were eligible but didn't sign up, and it usually lasts as long as you have Part B.
• The Part D penalty is 1% of the "national base beneficiary premium" for each month you went without creditable drug coverage, and it also sticks with you for life.
• Your Initial Enrollment Period is a 7-month window around your 65th birthday — the safest time to enroll if you don't have other qualifying coverage.
• If you had job-based insurance or other creditable coverage, you may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period and avoid a penalty entirely.

Why these penalties exist

Medicare is built on the idea that healthy and sick people share costs together. If people could wait until they got sick to enroll, premiums for everyone would climb. The late-enrollment penalties nudge people to sign up on time — or to keep other coverage that counts as "creditable."

The catch: unlike a one-time late fee, these penalties are added to your monthly premium and generally stay there for as long as you have that part of Medicare.

The Part B penalty, in plain English

If you don't sign up for Part B when you're first eligible and you don't have other qualifying coverage, your monthly premium can go up 10% for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't.

Two years late? That's roughly a 20% higher premium — for life. Five years late? About 50% higher.

You can generally only sign up for Part B during your Initial Enrollment Period, a Special Enrollment Period, or the General Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31 each year), according to CMS at medicare.gov.

The Part D penalty works differently

The Part D penalty is calculated as 1% of the "national base beneficiary premium" for every month you went without Part D or other creditable drug coverage after your Initial Enrollment Period.

So if you went 20 months without creditable drug coverage, your penalty would be 20% of that base premium, rounded to the nearest 10 cents, added to your Part D premium each month.

"Creditable" is the key word. If you had drug coverage through an employer, union, VA, or TRICARE that Medicare considers at least as good as Part D, those months don't count against you. Your plan is required to tell you each year in writing whether your coverage is creditable — keep those notices.

Your Initial Enrollment Period

Most people's safest bet is the Initial Enrollment Period: the 7-month window that starts three months before the month you turn 65 and ends three months after. Sign up during those seven months and you avoid the late penalties, assuming you don't already have creditable coverage in place.

If you're still working at 65 with solid employer coverage, talk with your benefits office before you turn down Part B. The rules around employer plans, COBRA, and retiree coverage are where most penalty stories begin.

Special Enrollment Periods can save you

If you delayed Part B because you had job-based insurance through your or your spouse's active employment, you generally get a Special Enrollment Period to sign up without penalty — usually up to 8 months after that coverage ends.

For Part D, you typically get about 2 months to enroll after creditable drug coverage ends.

These rules have specific paperwork requirements, so don't guess. Call 1-800-MEDICARE or Alaska's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), which offers free, unbiased help.

What this looks like in Juneau

Juneau is in Juneau City and Borough, where Medicare plan availability is set by CMS at the county level. Whatever plans are offered locally, the enrollment deadlines and penalty rules are federal — they apply the same in Juneau as they do anywhere else in the country.

Keep these dates on your calendar:

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31
• General Enrollment Period for Part B: January 1 – March 31

A quick note on Part D figures

While we're talking about Part D, a few program-level figures are worth knowing. The annual out-of-pocket cap for prescription drugs is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. The maximum Part D deductible is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027. The old coverage gap ("donut hole") was eliminated as of 2025. There's also an optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan that lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments.