Medicare 2026

Why missing Medicare deadlines costs Great Falls more monthly

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Some Medicare mistakes are easy to fix. Missing a Part B or Part D enrollment deadline is not one of them. Sign up late without a good reason, and the government can add a penalty to your monthly premium — for as long as you have Medicare. For many people, that means paying more every month for the rest of their life.

The good news: these penalties are avoidable once you understand the rules. Here is what people in Great Falls and across Cascade County should know before their next birthday, retirement date, or job change.

How the Part B penalty works

Part B covers doctor visits, outpatient care, and many preventive services. Most people first become eligible during their Initial Enrollment Period — the 3 months before, the month of, and the 3 months after they turn 65.

If you don't sign up during that window and you don't have other qualifying coverage (like a current employer's group health plan), Medicare adds 10% to your Part B premium for every full 12 months you were eligible but not enrolled. That surcharge sticks with you for as long as you have Part B.

Example: If you waited three full years to sign up and had no other coverage, you'd pay 30% more every month — permanently.

How the Part D penalty works

Part D covers prescription drugs. The penalty here is calculated a little differently. Medicare takes 1% of the "national base beneficiary premium" and multiplies it by the number of full months you went without Part D or other creditable drug coverage after you were first eligible.

That amount is rounded and added to your Part D premium every month, for as long as you have Part D. Because the base premium can rise over time, the dollar penalty can grow too.

"Creditable" is the key word. If your drug coverage from an employer, union, or the VA is at least as good as standard Medicare drug coverage, it counts — and you won't owe a penalty when you eventually enroll. Keep the letter your plan sends each fall that confirms whether your coverage is creditable.

Who can delay without a penalty

Not everyone has to sign up at 65. You can generally delay Part B and Part D without penalty if you have:

• Active health coverage through your own or your spouse's current employer (not retiree coverage or COBRA).
• Creditable prescription drug coverage from an employer, union, TRICARE, or the VA.

When that coverage ends, you get a Special Enrollment Period — usually 8 months for Part B and 63 days for Part D — to enroll without penalty. Miss those windows, and the clock on penalties starts running.

The deadlines that matter most

Keep these dates on your calendar:

• Initial Enrollment Period: The 7-month window around your 65th birthday.
• General Enrollment Period: Jan. 1 – March 31, for people who missed their initial window and don't qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.
• Annual Enrollment Period: Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, to join, switch, or drop Medicare Advantage and Part D plans.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: Jan. 1 – March 31, for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan who want to switch once.

A few 2027 numbers worth knowing

Even if you avoid every penalty, drug costs are changing in ways worth understanding. For 2026, Part D has a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap and a maximum deductible of $615. The old coverage gap, or "donut hole," was eliminated in 2025, leaving three simpler phases. Medicare also offers the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly bills instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.

Higher-income enrollees should also plan for IRMAA — the income-related surcharges that begin above $109,000 for single filers in 2026.

What Great Falls readers should do next

Great Falls is in Cascade County, where a range of stand-alone Part D and Medicare Advantage plans are offered each year. Availability and plan details are set at the county level, so your options may differ from friends and family in other parts of Montana.

If you're close to 65, recently lost job-based coverage, or aren't sure whether your current drug plan counts as creditable, don't guess. Call 1-800-MEDICARE, visit medicare.gov, or contact Montana's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for free, one-on-one help. A short phone call now can prevent a penalty that follows you for decades.