Medicare · Step 1 of 3
How to sign up for Medicare: health coverage at 65 and for some people with disabilities
Will I be signed up for Medicare on my own?Free · no sign-up · next page
Missing the first sign-up window can cost you for years
Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people 65 and older. Some younger people can get it too, such as people with certain disabilities, ALS or permanent kidney failure. Part A is hospital insurance. Part B is medical insurance for doctors and outpatient care.
Some people are signed up for Part A and Part B on their own. Others have to sign up, and the timing matters. Your first chance is a 7-month window around your 65th birthday. If you miss it and have no job-based health coverage, you may have to wait to sign up. You may also pay a late penalty on Part B every month for as long as you have it. The next page shows how to avoid that.
Questions most people have before they sign up
How Medicare sign-up works from start to finish
Medicare is run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But Social Security takes the sign-ups for Part A and Part B. If you already get Social Security or railroad retirement benefits, you are enrolled on your own when you turn 65. Your Medicare card comes in a welcome package in the mail.
If you do not get those benefits yet, you contact Social Security. You can sign up online, by phone or at a local office. If you still work and have health coverage through that job, you may be able to wait to sign up for Part B without a penalty. You will need a form from your employer later.
Once you have Part A and Part B, you choose how to get your coverage. You can keep Original Medicare and add a drug plan. Or you can join a private Medicare Advantage Plan. The next page explains each step.
- Medicare.gov, How do I sign up for Medicare? — Who gets Part A and Part B automatically, the welcome package and the rules for disability, ALS, ESRD and Puerto Rico
- Medicare.gov, When does Medicare coverage start? — The 7-month Initial Enrollment Period, start dates, the General Enrollment Period and Special Enrollment Periods
- Medicare.gov, Avoid late enrollment penalties — How the Part A, Part B and Part D penalties work, with the 2026 Part B example
- Social Security Administration, Medicare (Publication No. 05-10043, 2026) — Who can get Medicare, the enrollment periods, the employer Special Enrollment Period with forms CMS-40B and CMS-L564, and phone hours
- Social Security Administration, Sign up for Medicare — Signing up online, the information to have ready, ESRD and the phone lines