Medicare 2026

Before Your 65th Birthday in Minnetonka: Read This

MINNETONKA, Minn. — If a 65th birthday is on your calendar this year or next, the most important Medicare date isn't the party. It's the seven-month window that opens three months before your birthday month and closes three months after it. Miss it, and you could face lifelong late-enrollment penalties and a wait for coverage to begin.

That window is called the Initial Enrollment Period, or IEP, and it's the on-ramp almost every American uses to join Medicare. Here's how it works and what to do first.

What the Initial Enrollment Period actually is

The IEP is a one-time, seven-month window tied to your 65th birthday. According to CMS, it includes the three months before your birthday month, your birthday month, and the three months after. If your birthday falls on the first of the month, the window shifts one month earlier.

During this window you can enroll in Original Medicare (Part A and Part B), pick up a stand-alone Part D drug plan, or choose a Medicare Advantage plan instead of Original Medicare.

Why the timing matters

Sign up in the first three months of your IEP and, in most cases, your coverage starts the first day of your birthday month. Wait until your birthday month or later, and coverage can be delayed by up to a month after you enroll.

Miss the window entirely without other qualifying coverage and two things can happen: you may have to wait for the General Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31) to sign up, and you may owe a late-enrollment penalty added to your Part B or Part D premium for as long as you have Medicare. Those penalties don't go away.

Still working at 65? Read this carefully

Not everyone needs to jump in at 65. If you or your spouse are still working and covered by an employer group plan with 20 or more employees, you may be able to delay Part B without a penalty and use a Special Enrollment Period later. But the rules are specific — retiree coverage, COBRA, and marketplace plans are treated differently than active employer coverage.

Before making that call, talk to your employer's benefits office and to Medicare directly. Getting this wrong is one of the most common — and most expensive — mistakes new enrollees make.

First steps to take right now

1. Check your Social Security status. If you're already receiving Social Security benefits before 65, you'll likely be enrolled in Part A and Part B automatically. If not, you'll need to sign up yourself at ssa.gov. 2. Make a list of your prescriptions and doctors. This will matter when you compare Part D drug plans or Medicare Advantage plans. 3. Learn the parts. Part A covers hospital stays, Part B covers doctor visits and outpatient care, Part D covers prescriptions, and Medicare Advantage (Part C) bundles them through a private insurer. 4. Know the 2026 numbers. Part D now has a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs, a maximum deductible of $615, and the old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone. Higher-income enrollees (above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026) may pay an IRMAA surcharge on Part B and Part D premiums.

What Minnetonka residents can expect locally

Minnetonka is in Hennepin County, where residents typically have a wide range of Medicare Advantage and stand-alone Part D plans to choose from each year. The exact plan counts and carriers change annually, so it's worth using the Plan Finder at medicare.gov during your IEP to see current options for your ZIP code.

Remember: plan availability is set at the county level, not the city level. A neighbor across the county line in Ramsey or Carver may see different choices.

After your IEP: the dates to remember

Once you're enrolled, two other dates run every year:

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7. Switch, drop, or join a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in an Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.

If drug costs are a worry, ask about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread your out-of-pocket drug costs across the year in monthly installments instead of paying them all at once at the pharmacy.