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Documents Needed to Apply for Medicare Part A

Medicare Part A covers hospital, skilled nursing facility, home health care and hospice care. Enrollees must complete an enrollment questionnaire and submit a benefit application. Frequently, enrollees do not pay for Medicare Part A coverage.

  1. Social Security Administration

    • Enrollees must contact the Social Security Administration at least three months before their 65th birthday to begin the Medicare enrollment process. Social Security representatives are available to answer questions about enrollment between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. The toll free number is 800-772-1213. Those who are deaf or hard of hearing can call SSA's TTY number at 800-325-0778 during the same hours. Online support and enrollment is also available at SocialSecurity.gov.

    Initial Enrollment Questionnaire

    • All Medicare enrollees must fill out the Initial Enrollment Questionnaire. The IEQ determines eligibility for Medicare Part A. The IEQ questionnaire is online at MyMedicare.gov (see Resources). Enrollees can complete the questionnaire over the phone by calling the Coordination of Benefits Contractor at 800-999-1118. The enrollment period for Medicare Part A runs for seven months, starting three months before an applicant's 65th birthday and ending four months after.

    Medicare Benefit Application

    • All enrollees must complete a Medicare benefit application. The application is not complete with an enrollee's full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number and phone number. Enrollees must also provide detailed information about pre-existing disabilities. An enrollee can track the status of his Medicare benefit application at SocialSecurity.gov.

    My Medicare

    • MyMedicare.gov is a secure online website that gives you access to your personal Medicare information. Log in to submit claims, search plans and coverage, view and manage your drug list and pharmacy information, view your current and upcoming preventive services calendar, update information about your current health insurance and enroll in Medicare Part B. You must pay a premium for Medicare Part B. You may want to wait to enroll in Medicare Part B until both you and your spouse are retired.

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