Medicare 2026

Part B and Part D late fees explained for Salem

SALEM, Va. — Miss a Medicare sign-up window here, and the bill can follow you for the rest of your life. That is the part of Medicare most people in Salem don't hear about until it's too late — the late-enrollment penalties for Part B (doctor visits and outpatient care) and Part D (prescription drugs). Both are added to your monthly premium, and in most cases, they never go away.

The good news: if you know the deadlines, they are almost always avoidable.

Why these penalties exist

Medicare works like a big insurance pool. To keep premiums fair, the program asks people to sign up when they're first eligible instead of waiting until they get sick. The penalties are the nudge. They aren't a fine you pay once — they are added to your monthly premium for as long as you have that part of Medicare.

For most people in Salem, that means the mistake you make at 65 can still be showing up on your bill at 85.

How the Part B penalty works

If you don't sign up for Part B when you're first eligible — and you don't have other qualifying coverage, like an employer group plan based on active work — you can be charged an extra 10% of the standard Part B premium for every full 12-month period you went without it.

A few examples of how that can happen:

• You retired at 65 but skipped Part B because you felt healthy.
• You kept COBRA or a retiree plan and assumed that counted as active employer coverage (it usually does not).
• You missed your Initial Enrollment Period and had to wait for the General Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31) to sign up.

The penalty is added to your Part B premium and, in most cases, you pay it for the rest of your life.

How the Part D penalty works

Part D — prescription drug coverage — has its own separate penalty. If you go 63 or more days in a row without "creditable" drug coverage after your Initial Enrollment Period ends, Medicare can charge you 1% of the national base beneficiary premium for every month you went uncovered.

"Creditable" means the drug coverage you had was expected to pay, on average, at least as much as standard Medicare Part D. Employer plans, VA benefits and some retiree plans often qualify — but you need the letter from that plan (called a Notice of Creditable Coverage) to prove it. Save those letters.

Like the Part B penalty, the Part D penalty is added to your monthly premium and generally sticks around for as long as you have Part D.

The deadlines that matter in Salem

Salem is in Salem City, and Medicare's enrollment rules are the same here as anywhere else in the country. Mark these:

• Initial Enrollment Period: The 7 months around your 65th birthday.
• General Enrollment Period: January 1 – March 31 (for people who missed their initial window).
• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7, for changing Medicare Advantage or Part D coverage.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31, for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan who want to switch once.

If you're losing job-based coverage, you may also qualify for a Special Enrollment Period — usually up to 8 months for Part B and 63 days for Part D — that lets you sign up without penalty.

What Part D looks like in 2027

Even if you rarely take medications, enrolling in a Part D plan on time protects you from the penalty later. A few program-wide facts worth knowing:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027 — once you hit it, your covered drugs cost you nothing more that year.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025; Part D now has three simpler phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly payments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA — an income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D premiums — starts above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

How to avoid a penalty

A short checklist for Salem readers approaching 65 — or helping a parent who is:

1. Mark your Initial Enrollment Period on the calendar the year you turn 64. 2. If you're still working, ask your HR department in writing whether your health and drug coverage is "creditable" for Medicare. 3. Keep every Notice of Creditable Coverage letter your plan sends each fall. 4. If you're losing employer coverage, act inside your Special Enrollment Period — don't wait. 5. When in doubt, call 1-800-MEDICARE, visit Medicare.gov, or contact Virginia's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (VICAP) for free, one-on-one help.