Understanding Medicare Easy Pay: What It Is and How to Use It

Medicare Easy Pay is a free program that allows people with either Medicare Part A or Medicare Part B plans to make recurring, automatic payments on their premiums directly from their checking or savings account. Not everyone with Medicare Part A pays a premium, but those who do pay monthly. People who buy Medicare Part B only typically pay premiums quarterly, or even three months. Medicare offers an overview of Medicare costs for each plan type. While Medicare also offers an online payment system as an option to pay these premiums, Easy Pay lets you set up automatic payments.

Anyone who pays a Medicare Part A or B premium can sign up for Easy Pay at any time. To set up Easy Pay, you can contact Medicare for the appropriate form, or it can be printed online.

Once the form is submitted, however, ongoing participation in the Easy Pay program does not require Internet access.

You must have a bank account set up for the automated monthly payments to be withdrawn from.

To sign up for Medicare Easy Pay, print and complete the Authorization Agreement for Preauthorized Payment form. This form is the application for the program, and includes instructions on how to complete. For people without access to the Internet or a printer, call 1-800-MEDICARE, and they will send you a form.

To complete the form, have your bank information and your red, white, and blue Medicare card handy.

You will need a blank check from your bank account to complete your bank information. If you are using a checking account for the automatic payments, you will also need to include a blank, voided check in the envelope when you submit your completed form.

When completing the form, write “Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services” in the Agency Name section, and your name exactly as it appears on your Medicare card for the “Individual/Organization Name” section. You will fill in your 11-character Medicare number from your Medicare card in the section that asks for the “Agency Account Identification Number.”

When completing your bank information, “Type of Payment” should be listed as “Medicare Premiums,” and you will have to list your name as it appears on your bank account, your bank’s routing number, and the account number from which the premium amount will be withdrawn each month.

The form also includes a space for “Signature and Title of Representative,” but this only needs to be filled in if someone at your bank helped you complete the form.

Once mailed to the Medicare Premium Collection Center (PO Box 979098, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000) it can take 6 to 8 weeks to process your request.

If you do not want to set up recurring payments, you also have the option to make online payments to your Medicare premium with a bank or credit card.

When processing for Medicare Easy Pay is complete, you will receive what looks like a Medicare Premium Bill, but it will be marked, “This is not a bill.” This is just a statement notifying you that the premium will be deducted from your bank account.

From that point on, you will see your Medicare premiums deducted from your bank account automatically. These payments will be listed on your bank statement as Automatic Clearing House (ACH) transactions, and occur around the 20th of each month.

If you are behind in your Medicare premium payments, the initial automatic payment can be made for up to three months of premiums if you are behind in premium payments, but subsequent monthly payments can only equal one month’s premium plus and additional $10 at most. If more than this amount is still owed, you must continue to pay your premiums another way.

Once the amount you owe on your premium is within Medicare limits, automatic monthly deductions can occur. If you don’t have adequate funds for your monthly payment in your bank account, Medicare will send you a letter to tell you the deduction failed and to offer you other ways to pay.

help paying medicare costs

If you need help paying your Medicare costs, there are resources available:

• Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Program (QBM)
• Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) Program
• Qualifying Individual (QI) Program
• Qualified Disabled and Working Individuals (QDWI) Program
• State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP) National Network

Easy Pay can be stopped at any time, but you do need to plan ahead.

To stop Easy Pay, complete and send in a new Authorization Agreement for Preauthorized Payment form with the changes you want made.

You can pay your premiums for Medicare Part A or Part B using the Easy Pay program.

Easy Pay is only set up for premium payments on Medicare products, not private insurance products or other payment types.

Medicare Supplement Insurance, or Medigap, plans cannot be paid through Easy Pay. These plans are offered by private insurance companies and premium payments have to be made with those companies directly.

Medicare Advantage plans are also hosted by private insurers and cannot be paid through Easy Pay.

Medicare Part D premiums cannot be made with Easy Pay, but they can be deducted from your Social Security payments.

If your Medicare premium changes, the new amount will automatically be deducted if you are already on the Easy Pay plan. Your monthly statements will reflect the new amount.

If you need to change your payment method as premiums change, you will have to complete and send a new Authorization Agreement for Preauthorized Payment form. Changes will take an additional 6 to 8 weeks to take effect.

Managing public healthcare programs like Medicare can be complicated, but there are a number of programs and resources to turn to for help. The Easy Pay program is one of these, and offers a free, automatic way to pay for certain Medicare premiums. If you need more help, there are a number of Medicare-supported programs that can offer assistance with paying premiums.