Medicare 2026

How the Medicare IEP works for Somersworth at 65

SOMERSWORTH, N.H. — If your 65th birthday is on the horizon, the most important date on your calendar may not be the birthday itself. It's the seven-month window around it — the one Medicare calls your Initial Enrollment Period, or IEP. Miss it, and you could face lifelong penalties and a wait to get covered.

Here's a plain-English guide to that window, and the first steps to take in Somersworth.

What the Initial Enrollment Period actually is

Your IEP is a 7-month stretch built around the month you turn 65. It starts three months before your birthday month, includes your birthday month, and runs three months after. So if you turn 65 in June, your window opens March 1 and closes September 30.

During this period, you can sign up for Medicare Part A (hospital) and Part B (medical), and you can also enroll in a Part D prescription drug plan or a Medicare Advantage plan if you choose.

A helpful tip: if you want coverage to start the month you turn 65, enroll in the first three months of your window. Signing up later in the window can push your start date back.

Why the deadline matters more than people think

Skipping enrollment when you're first eligible — and without other qualifying coverage — can be expensive. The Part B late-enrollment penalty adds 10% to your monthly premium for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't. That penalty typically sticks with you for as long as you have Medicare.

Part D has its own late penalty, calculated on how many months you went without creditable drug coverage.

The good news: if you're still working at 65 and have solid employer coverage, you may be able to delay Part B without penalty using a Special Enrollment Period later. But the rules are specific, so confirm before you skip anything.

First steps if you're aging into Medicare in Somersworth

Somersworth is in Strafford County, so the plans available to you locally are set at the county level. Here's a simple order of operations:

1. Check if you'll be auto-enrolled. If you're already receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits before 65, you're typically enrolled in Parts A and B automatically. Otherwise, you need to sign up yourself. 2. Decide about Part B. If you have no other coverage, take it. If you have employer coverage, ask your HR department — in writing — whether it's primary or secondary at 65. 3. Think about drug coverage. Even if you take no prescriptions today, going without creditable drug coverage can trigger a penalty later. 4. Compare your path. Original Medicare (with a separate Part D plan, and possibly a Medigap policy) is one route. A Medicare Advantage plan that bundles coverage is another. Strafford County has multiple Advantage plans and stand-alone drug plans available; the choice depends on your doctors, prescriptions, and budget.

What's new for 2027 that new enrollees should know

A few program-level facts are worth understanding before you pick drug coverage:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: Once you spend $2,100 out of pocket on covered drugs in 2026 (rising to $2,400 in 2027), you pay nothing for the rest of the year.
• Part D deductible: No plan's drug deductible can exceed $615 in 2026, or $700 in 2027.
• The "donut hole" is gone. As of 2025, Part D moved to three simpler phases — deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic (where the cap kicks in).
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: You can opt in to spread your drug costs into predictable monthly payments instead of paying large amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA: Higher-income enrollees pay more for Part B and Part D. For 2026, these surcharges start above $109,000 in income for a single filer (higher for joint filers).

How to actually sign up

You can enroll three ways: online at ssa.gov, by phone with Social Security at 1-800-772-1213, or in person at a Social Security office. Medicare enrollment runs through Social Security, not through Medicare directly.

Once you have your Medicare number, you can shop and compare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans available in Strafford County using the Plan Finder at medicare.gov.

A quick word about later enrollment periods

After your IEP, two annual windows matter:

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 – December 7. This is when anyone with Medicare can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan 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 to another Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.