Colorado Medicare Eligibility – Do You Know How it Affects Your Spouse?

As people get to the age where they can apply for Medicare, they often forget that these benefits are there for their spouse too.  This means if you are married to someone who isn’t yet eligible for Medicare, they will become eligible when you do.  In Colorado, Medicare eligibility is a hot topic among seniors, and it’s not always as easy as it sounds.  A person can only become eligible for Medicare benefits upon their 65^th birthday or when they begin collecting Social Security benefits, whichever comes first, but their spouse gets the same benefits no matter how old they are.  So what happens with Colorado Medicare eligibility when a couple divorces, or when the eligible spouse passes away?

In a recent article by one of my favorite Colorado health insurance experts, this topic is explored in greater detail.   Read “How Does Colorado Medicare Eligibility Affect Your Spouse?” to find out more on the topic of Medicare eligibility in Colorado.  Many questions about Medicare in general can be answered by your local health insurance agent, but in some cases it is best to simply log onto their website, Medicare.gov.  This recently redesigned web portal now includes a new tool to help you determine your Medicare eligibility.  Just take a brief questionnaire and you will see your current elibility status.

According to the article mentioned above, married couples are the easiest to figure out. As long as a couple has been married for at least one year, a spouse becomes eligible for Medicare at the same time as his or her spouse.   Getting divorced makes Colorado Medicare eligibility a bit more complicated.  One stipulation is that the couple must have been married for at least ten years for one spouse to become eligible on another’s benefits.  In addition, the couple must remain unmarried or wait until the age of 60 to remarry in order to remain eligible.  Other restrictions apply with regard to the amount of Social Security benefits the non-eligible ex-spouse receives.  In the case of widows and widowers, spousal Medicare will be available as long as the surviving spouse remains single, and only if the couple was married for at least nine months.

Confused about your prospects for Colorado Medicare eligibility?  If you don’t find the answers on the Medicare website, ask a Colorado health insurance agent to explain these rights to you.  In order to get the best coverage from Medicare, it makes sense to consider a Medicare Advantage plan or some form of Medicare supplement insurance.