Medicare Part D

Missing Medicare Deadlines in Covington Adds Lifetime Fees

COVINGTON, Ky. — If you're approaching Medicare age or already juggling coverage decisions, one of the costliest mistakes you can make has nothing to do with which plan you pick. It's missing an enrollment deadline. Late-enrollment penalties for Part B and Part D can follow you for life, quietly adding to your monthly bill for as long as you have Medicare.

Here's how those penalties work heading into 2027, who they affect, and the steps Covington residents can take to sidestep them.

Why Medicare has late-enrollment penalties

Medicare is designed to work best when people sign up when they're first eligible. The penalties exist to encourage steady enrollment and keep the risk pool balanced. If you delay signing up for Part B (medical insurance) or Part D (prescription drug coverage) without other qualifying coverage in place, Medicare adds a surcharge to your premium — and in most cases, it sticks.

The good news: the rules are straightforward once you know them, and most people can avoid penalties entirely with a little planning.

The Part B late-enrollment penalty

Part B covers doctor visits, outpatient care, and many preventive services. Your Initial Enrollment Period is a seven-month window that starts three months before the month you turn 65, includes your birthday month, and ends three months after.

If you don't sign up during that window — and you don't have other creditable coverage, such as an employer group health plan based on active employment — you may owe a Part B penalty.

Here's how it's calculated: your monthly Part B premium goes up 10% for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't. That surcharge is generally added to your premium for as long as you have Part B.

You can typically only sign up for Part B during the General Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31) if you miss your Initial Enrollment Period and don't qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.

The Part D late-enrollment penalty

Part D covers prescription drugs. The penalty here works differently. If you go 63 or more days in a row without Part D or other creditable drug coverage (such as coverage through an employer, union, or the VA) after your Initial Enrollment Period, you may owe a Part D penalty when you eventually enroll.

The amount is calculated as 1% of the "national base beneficiary premium" for each full month you went without creditable coverage. That figure is set by Medicare each year and gets added to your Part D premium — again, usually for as long as you have Part D.

One important note: even if you don't take many prescriptions today, signing up for a Part D plan when you're first eligible protects you from this penalty later. Part D also has some meaningful guardrails: the annual out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027, and the maximum deductible is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027. The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") has been eliminated as of 2025, leaving three simpler payment phases.

How to avoid the penalties

A few practical steps for readers in Covington:

• Mark your Initial Enrollment Period. It starts three months before your 65th birthday month. Don't wait for a letter — check medicare.gov.
• Know what "creditable coverage" means. If you have drug coverage through an employer, union, TRICARE, or the VA, your plan administrator must tell you each year in writing whether it counts as creditable. Save those notices.
• If you're still working past 65, ask your HR department how your employer coverage interacts with Medicare before you delay Part B or Part D.
• Use the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) to review your drug coverage each year. If you've been going without a Part D plan, this is a common time to enroll.
• Consider the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan if you expect high drug costs in a given year. It doesn't lower what you owe, but it spreads your out-of-pocket drug costs into monthly payments.

What's available in your area

Covington is in Kenton County, where Medicare plan availability is determined at the county level. If you want to see how many stand-alone Part D plans or Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage are offered locally, the Plan Finder tool at medicare.gov lets you search by ZIP code and compare options side by side.

Star Ratings, which Medicare publishes each year, can help you understand how plans perform on measures like customer service and drug safety. They're one input among several — not a shortcut to a decision.

A quick word on IRMAA

Separate from late-enrollment penalties, higher-income beneficiaries may pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) on top of their Part B and Part D premiums. For 2026, IRMAA surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer (thresholds are higher for joint filers). IRMAA isn't a penalty — it's an income-based adjustment — but it's worth knowing about if you're planning your retirement income.