Medicare 2026

Part B and Part D Enrollment Windows for Baltimore

BALTIMORE, Md. — For most people turning 65 in Baltimore this year, the calendar is the single most important part of Medicare. Miss the wrong window for Part B or Part D, and the penalty doesn't just sting once — it can stay on your monthly bill for as long as you have Medicare. The good news: the deadlines are simple once you see them side by side.

The deadline that starts it all: your Initial Enrollment Period

Your first chance to enroll in Medicare is a seven-month window built around your 65th birthday. It includes the three months before your birth month, the month you turn 65, and the three months after. Sign up during those seven months and you avoid late penalties entirely.

If you're already getting Social Security benefits, you'll be enrolled in Parts A and B automatically. If not, you have to sign up yourself through the Social Security Administration.

What happens if you miss it — Part B

The Part B late-enrollment penalty is a 10% premium surcharge for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't. In most cases, that surcharge is added to your Part B premium every month for as long as you have Medicare.

There's also a second cost: you can't sign up whenever you want. Missing your Initial Enrollment Period usually means waiting for the General Enrollment Period, which runs January 1 through March 31 each year, with coverage starting the month after you enroll.

What happens if you miss it — Part D

Part D (prescription drug coverage) has its own late-enrollment penalty. If you go 63 days or more without "creditable" drug coverage after you were first eligible, you'll owe 1% of the national base beneficiary premium for every month you were uncovered. That amount is added to your Part D premium and, like the Part B penalty, generally lasts as long as you have Part D.

"Creditable" means drug coverage that Medicare considers at least as good as a standard Part D plan — for example, some employer or union plans. Your plan should send you a notice each year telling you whether it counts. Keep those notices.

The exception most people miss: Special Enrollment Periods

If you're still working at 65 and covered by a current employer's group health plan (yours or your spouse's), you can usually delay Part B and Part D without a penalty. When that job-based coverage ends, a Special Enrollment Period opens:

• Part B: 8 months to sign up after employment or the group coverage ends, whichever comes first.
• Part D: 2 months to join a drug plan after creditable coverage ends.

COBRA and retiree coverage do not count as current employer coverage for this rule. That's the trap that catches many people. If you retire in Baltimore and switch to COBRA, your Part B clock has already started ticking.

How the enrollment windows fit together

Once you're in Medicare, two other dates matter each year:

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7. This is when you can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the coming year.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another one or return to Original Medicare.

Neither of these windows fixes a missed Part B enrollment — that's what the General Enrollment Period (Jan. 1 – March 31) is for.

A quick word on 2027 costs

Even if you enroll on time, it helps to know what Part D looks like in 2026. The maximum deductible is $615, and out-of-pocket drug spending is capped at $2,100 for the year. The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025. If monthly drug costs are tight, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread them across the year. Higher-income enrollees (above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026) also pay IRMAA surcharges on Parts B and D.

Where Baltimore residents can get help

Baltimore is in Baltimore city, where plan availability is set at the county level and options are generally broad. But the plan you pick matters less than making sure you're enrolled on time in the first place.

For personalized help, call 1-800-MEDICARE, visit medicare.gov, or contact Maryland's SHIP (the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, known locally as SHIP/MAP) for free one-on-one counseling. SHIP counselors don't sell plans — they explain your options.