People with Health Connector coverage nearing Medicare eligibility face many obligations – to enroll in Medicare in a timely way, to notify their Connector plan about their Medicare eligibility, and to cancel their Connector plan.  Despite these responsibilities, people with Connector plans may disregard notice about their Medicare eligibility unless they are auto-enrolled in Medicare because they receive Social Security cash benefits. In addition, Connector enrollees receive no notification that their access to premium tax credits automatically terminates when they become Medicare eligible.
 

Disregarding your Medicare eligibility while staying enrolled in a Health Connector plan can lead to a delay in Medicare enrollment. Honest enrollment mistakes can lead to lifetime premium penalties, gaps in coverage, disruptions in access to needed care, tax penalties and recovery, by the IRS resulting from the loss of premium tax credits and delayed Medicare enrollment.  To avoid these consequences, it is imperative that Health Connector members who are eligible for Medicare enroll in Medicare in a timely way, notify their Connector plan about their Medicare eligibility, and cancel their Connector plan.  
 

As always feel free to contact your local SHINE Regional Office at ​
1-800-243-4636 #3 if you have any questions.​