How Long Does the Medicare Part B Penalty Last?

The Medicare Part B penalty will last the rest of your life, or as long as you have Medicare. There is generally no way out of paying the penalty if you meet the requirements for it. It’s important to sign up for Medicare as soon as you are eligible to avoid having to pay the penalty. The amount you must pay will grow the longer you hold off enrolling.

Christian Simmons, writer and researcher for RetireGuide
  • Written by
    Christian Simmons

    Christian Simmons

    Financial Writer

    Christian Simmons is a writer for RetireGuide and a member of the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE®). He covers Medicare and important retirement topics. Christian is a former winner of a Florida Society of News Editors journalism contest and has written professionally since 2016.

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  • Edited By
    Lamia Chowdhury
    Lamia Chowdhury, editor for RetireGuide.com

    Lamia Chowdhury

    Financial Editor

    Lamia Chowdhury is a financial content editor for RetireGuide and has over three years of marketing experience in the finance industry. She has written copy for both digital and print pieces ranging from blogs, radio scripts and search ads to billboards, brochures, mailers and more.

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  • Published: March 30, 2022
  • Updated: June 24, 2023
  • 4 min read time
  • This page features 6 Cited Research Articles
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APA Simmons, C. (2023, June 24). How Long Does the Medicare Part B Penalty Last? RetireGuide.com. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://www.retireguide.com/medicare/eligibility-and-enrollment/penalty/lifetime/

MLA Simmons, Christian. "How Long Does the Medicare Part B Penalty Last?" RetireGuide.com, 24 Jun 2023, https://www.retireguide.com/medicare/eligibility-and-enrollment/penalty/lifetime/.

Chicago Simmons, Christian. "How Long Does the Medicare Part B Penalty Last?" RetireGuide.com. Last modified June 24, 2023. https://www.retireguide.com/medicare/eligibility-and-enrollment/penalty/lifetime/.

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Medicare Lifetime Late Enrollment Penalty

The Part B late enrollment penalty will last the rest of your life, and it can quickly become a major expense. The cost of your premium will rise by 10% for every 12-month period that you are not enrolled in Medicare.

Once you have enrolled, the increase applies every month that you pay your premium. Even if you were to wait just two years, the change could be dramatic.

The Part B premium for 2023 is $164.90. Waiting two years would increase it by 20% to $197.88 — an extra $32.98 per month. So, over the course of a year, you would end up paying almost $400 more for Part B coverage than a beneficiary who enrolled on time would pay.

One of the few ways to avoid the penalty other than signing up on time would be if you qualified to enroll during a special enrollment period.

Examples of Events That Can Qualify You for a Special Enrollment Period
  • You were on Medicaid but are no longer eligible.
  • You were in jail and were released.
  • You just moved out of an institution like a skilled nursing facility.

Is There a Cap on Medicare Penalties?

As of now, there is no cap on your Medicare penalties. This means that your costs will continue to rise the longer you wait to enroll after you are eligible, no matter how long that period is.

Medicare Part B Penalty

There is no cap on the Part B penalty, and this can be damaging to your finances in retirement given the rate at which it rises. Within 10 years of waiting, your Part B monthly costs will have doubled due to the penalty.

There is typically no way out of paying the penalty once you have met the requirements for it. As long as you have Medicare, you will be paying more than other beneficiaries.

Medicare Part D Penalty

Part D prescription drug plans, which are sold by private insurers, also come with a late enrollment penalty if you don’t enroll when first eligible. But it is a bit more complex than the Part B penalty.

According to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, you will owe a Part D penalty if you go 63 or more days in a row without drug coverage at any point after you were first eligible to enroll.

Your penalty is determined by taking the national base beneficiary premium (essentially the average premium price across the country) and multiplying 1% of it by the number of months that you didn’t have coverage.

There are some situations where you can have other types of coverage and avoid the penalty, like if you have creditable prescription drug coverage that covers at least the same things a Part D plan would.

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Calculating Lifetime Penalty Fees

Calculating your Part B penalty is fairly straightforward. You simply add 10% to the cost of your monthly premium for each year-long period you didn’t have Medicare. It’s simple to get a snapshot of what you will have to pay each month.

How to Calculate Your Part B Penalty
  • Determine how many 12-month periods you haven’t had Part B since you first became eligible.
  • Increase the cost of your premium by 10% for each 12-month period.

To calculate your Part D penalty, you will need to know what the national base beneficiary premium is. You then take 1% of that figure and multiply it by the number of full months that you didn’t have drug coverage.

The number you get will be the penalty that is added onto your premium.

Importance of Enrolling in Medicare on Time

When you first become eligible for Medicare, it is very important that you enroll on time. Since late enrollment penalties have no cap and last the rest of your life, they can quickly become major expenses for you.

For Part D plans, your penalty can fluctuate year-to-year even after you have coverage since the base beneficiary premium can change.

Many Americans retire expecting to spend a certain amount on health care. Penalties can increase that number dramatically and alter the standard of living you were hoping to achieve in retirement.

For most Americans, it makes sense to switch over to Medicare once they become eligible. Remember that the decision to wait and be penalized typically cannot be undone. Once your premiums have risen due to penalties, they will not come back down.

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Last Modified: June 24, 2023

6 Cited Research Articles

  1. U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2022, September 27). 2023 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles 2023 Medicare Part D Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2023-medicare-parts-b-premiums-and-deductibles-2023-medicare-part-d-income-related-monthly
  2. U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2022). Costs. Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs/medicare-costs
  3. U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Part B Late Enrollment Penalty. Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-b-costs/part-b-late-enrollment-penalty
  4. U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Part D Late Enrollment Penalty. Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/drug-coverage-part-d/costs-for-medicare-drug-coverage/part-d-late-enrollment-penalty
  5. U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Special Circumstances (Special Enrollment Period). Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/sign-up-change-plans/when-can-i-join-a-health-or-drug-plan/special-circumstances-special-enrollment-periods
  6. U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). What is Credible Coverage? Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/medicare/prescription-drug-coverage/creditablecoverage/downloads/whatiscreditablecoverage.pdf