Medicare 2026

Why Medicare timing matters for working Bossier City employees

# Still working at 65? How Medicare coordinates with employer…

BOSSIER CITY, La. — Turning 65 while you're still on the job used to be a rare situation. Today it's common. Many people in Bossier City keep working past 65 — at Barksdale-area employers, at the casinos, in health care, or in family businesses — and they want to know one thing: do I have to sign up for Medicare now, or can I stay on my job's health plan?

The short answer is that it depends on the size of your employer, and getting the timing right matters. Here's how to think it through.

Start with Part A — it's usually the easy call

Most people qualify for premium-free Part A (hospital insurance) because they or a spouse paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years. If Part A costs you nothing, it generally makes sense to enroll at 65, even if you keep your employer plan. It can act as secondary hospital coverage.

There's one big exception: if you contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA), you cannot keep contributing once you enroll in ANY part of Medicare, including Part A. If you want to keep adding to your HSA, you may want to delay all of Medicare — including Part A — until you stop HSA contributions.

Part B is where the real decision lives

Part B (doctor and outpatient care) has a monthly premium, so this is the piece most working people weigh carefully.

Employer with 20 or more employees: Your group plan is generally the primary payer, and Medicare is secondary. You can usually delay Part B without a late penalty as long as you have that active coverage through your own or your spouse's job.

Employer with fewer than 20 employees: Medicare usually becomes the primary payer at 65. If you don't enroll in Part B, your group plan may pay very little — leaving you with big bills. In most small-employer situations, signing up for Part B at 65 is the safer move. Ask your HR or benefits administrator in writing which one pays first.

The 8-month window after work ends

When you (or the working spouse) retire or lose that job-based coverage, you have an 8-month Special Enrollment Period to sign up for Part B without a late penalty. This is one of the most misunderstood rules in Medicare.

Two important warnings:

• COBRA doesn't count. Even though COBRA continues your job's health plan, Medicare doesn't treat it as active employer coverage. Your 8 months start when the job ends, not when COBRA ends.
• Retiree coverage doesn't count either. Same rule.

Miss the 8-month window and the Part B late enrollment penalty can add 10% to your premium for every 12 months you should have been enrolled — for as long as you have Medicare.

What about Part D and drug coverage?

If your employer plan includes prescription drug coverage that Medicare considers "creditable" (at least as good as a standard Part D plan), you can delay Part D without a penalty. Your plan is required to send you a Creditable Coverage Notice each year — keep it.

If your drug coverage is NOT creditable, and you go more than 63 days without Part D or equivalent coverage, you can face a lifelong Part D late penalty.

A few Part D figures worth knowing when you eventually move to Part D:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap (the "donut hole") was eliminated in 2025.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.

Higher income? Watch for IRMAA

If your income is above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026 (higher for joint filers), you'll pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) on top of your Part B and Part D premiums. Because Medicare looks back two years at your tax return, working income can push you into a surcharge bracket — worth planning for with a tax professional.

What's available locally

Bossier City is in Bossier Parish, where Medicare beneficiaries can choose Original Medicare (with or without a stand-alone Part D plan and a Medigap policy) or a Medicare Advantage plan. If and when you leave employer coverage, you'll want to compare what's offered in Bossier Parish using the Plan Finder at medicare.gov.

Two dates to keep on the calendar:

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7 (change Medicare Advantage or Part D plans for the following year).
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31 (if you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch).