In my opinion, this overcomplicates the difference between private Medigap and public Part C Medicare Advantage plans. Especially for those of us under 70, think of it this way
-- Medigap along with Original Parts A and B is like the old Blue Cross Master Medical we all got when we first started working
-- Medicare Advantage along with Original Parts A and B is like the HMOs and PPOs our employers starting pitching as lower cost choices in the 1980s (and in some cases, later made the only "choice")

I assume the people who write Medicare advice columns like this overcomplicate this difference with all the mind-numbing Medicare bureaucracy rules because they are young and do not understand that we people on Medicare have buying insurance of all types for 50 years.
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CPEG

"Now what?" Now -- from Medicare's point of view -- you are no longer married. Doesn't matter that the two of you turn 65 at different times. No such thing as a family plan.

(It is not true that "Medicare options are available for first 7 months and then not obtainable." I think you are mixing up two rules.
1. You can sign up for Original Medicare Parts A and/or B no questions asked with no penalties involved in a seven-month window either side of your 65th birthday month. If you want to sign up later there may still be no penalty depending on whether you had other insurance but there are complicated rules. But you can always sign up for Original Medicare later and pay the penalty if you don't meet these rules; it is always obtainable
2. You can sign up for a private Medicare supplement, called a Medigap plan, no questions asked and without penalty (such as it being unobtainable) for six months after you sign up for B if you were allowed to delay signing up for B under the complicated rules mentioned in point 1.
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All good advice. There is another problem I am sure others have to deal with. One spouse, with family health plan turning 65, while the other spouse won't be 65 for another year. Medicare options only available for first 7 months then not obtainable, after turning 65. Separate medical plans outrageous with high premiums & deductibles. Now what?
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