Medicare 2026

Turning 65 in Georgetown? Here's how your 7-month Medicare sign-up window works

If you're approaching your 65th birthday in Georgetown, you're about to unlock one of the most important sign-up windows in Medicare: the Initial Enrollment Period. It's a seven-month stretch built around your birthday month, and how you use it shapes your coverage, your costs, and whether you face lifelong penalties. Here's a plain-English walk-through, tuned to Sussex County.

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What the Initial Enrollment Period actually is

The Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) is your first personal window to sign up for Medicare. It's seven months long: the three months before the month you turn 65, your birthday month, and the three months after. For most people in Georgetown, this is the cleanest, penalty-free way onto Medicare.

If you enroll in the three months before your birthday month, your coverage generally starts the first day of your birthday month. If you enroll during or after your birthday month, your start date can be pushed back — sometimes by a full month or more. That gap matters if you're planning to retire, drop employer coverage, or schedule a procedure.

Step 1: Decide if you need to enroll actively

Some people are enrolled in Medicare automatically. If you're already receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits when you turn 65, you'll usually be signed up for Part A and Part B without lifting a finger, and your card arrives in the mail.

If you're not drawing Social Security yet — which is common for people still working — you need to sign up yourself through the Social Security Administration. You can do that online at ssa.gov, by phone, or at the Social Security office serving Sussex County.

Step 2: Sort out Part A and Part B

Part A covers hospital stays and is premium-free for most people who have worked long enough to qualify. Part B covers doctor visits, outpatient care, and preventive services, and it has a monthly premium set by Medicare each year.

Higher earners pay more for Part B and Part D through a surcharge called IRMAA. For 2026, IRMAA begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer. Most people don't hit that threshold, but if you do, it's built off your tax return from two years earlier.

Step 3: Think about drug coverage and how you'll fill the gaps

Original Medicare (Parts A and B) doesn't cover most prescription drugs, and it doesn't cap what you pay out of pocket for medical services. That's where two more decisions come in:

• Part D — prescription drug coverage sold by private insurers. The maximum deductible any Part D plan can charge is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027. The annual cap on what you pay out of pocket for covered drugs is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025, so the program now runs in three phases. Medicare also offers an optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan that lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly bills.
• Medigap (Medicare Supplement) — private policies that help pay Original Medicare's deductibles and coinsurance. Your best pricing and guaranteed acceptance generally come during your Medigap open enrollment, a six-month window that starts when you're 65 and enrolled in Part B.
• Medicare Advantage (Part C) — an alternative to Original Medicare that bundles Parts A, B, and usually D through a private insurer. Georgetown is in Sussex County, where Medicare Advantage and Part D availability is determined at the county level, so plan choices depend on your ZIP code.

You don't have to make all of these decisions on day one, but you do need to make them within your IEP to avoid gaps and penalties.

Step 4: Watch the penalty traps

If you don't have other creditable coverage (like a qualifying employer plan) and you skip Part B during your IEP, you may pay a Part B late-enrollment penalty for as long as you have Medicare. The same idea applies to Part D: go too long without creditable drug coverage and a permanent surcharge gets added to your premium.

If you're still working past 65 with solid employer coverage, ask your HR department in writing whether your plan is "creditable" for Medicare purposes. That single answer tells you whether you can safely delay.

Step 5: Know the other enrollment windows

The IEP is a one-time event, but Medicare has other windows you'll hear about:

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7. This is when anyone on Medicare can switch Part D or Medicare Advantage plans for the next year.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can make one change during this window.
• Special Enrollment Periods: triggered by life events like losing employer coverage or moving.

Where to get local, unbiased help

You don't have to figure this out alone. Delaware's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), called ELDERinfo in Delaware, offers free, one-on-one counseling and does not sell plans. Medicare.gov's plan finder lets you compare Part D and Medicare Advantage options for your Georgetown ZIP code, and 1-800-MEDICARE is staffed 24/7.