How to Sign Up for Medicare and Social Security, and Get Help With the Costs

When and how to sign up for Medicare, applying for Social Security retirement benefits, choosing your coverage, and the state and federal programs that help pay Medicare's costs, with free counseling in New Hampshire.

Checked against its sources October 12, 2026.

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At a Glance

Social Security pays benefits to people who worked and paid Social Security taxes, when they retire or become disabled, and to some of their families. Medicare is health insurance for people 65 or older and some younger people with disabilities. You sign up for Medicare through Social Security, generally in the 7 months around your 65th birthday, and if you already get Social Security benefits you are usually enrolled automatically. Retirement benefits can start as early as age 62. If paying for Medicare is hard, state and federal programs can help with the costs: apply even if you are not sure you qualify. New Hampshire’s Aging and Disability Resource Centers give free, one-on-one help.

  1. Do you already get Social Security benefits?

    • YesYou are usually enrolled in Medicare automatically. Watch for your card.
    • NoSign up through Social Security in the 7 months around your 65th birthday.
  2. Choose Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage Plan, and a drug plan. Review it every fall, October 15 to December 7.
  3. If the costs are hard to pay, apply for a Medicare Savings Program and Extra Help.

Step by Step

Start here

  1. Know how the programs fit together

    Social Security is a set of programs run by the Social Security Administration:

    • Retirement benefits, for people who worked and paid Social Security taxes, starting as early as age 62.
    • Disability benefits, for people who worked and paid Social Security taxes long enough and have a medical condition that makes it hard or impossible to work and will last at least one year or result in death.
    • Family and survivor benefits, for the spouse, former spouse, child or dependent parent of someone who worked and paid Social Security taxes.
    • Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a separate program for people who are blind, have a disability, or are 65 or older, and have little or no income or assets.

    Medicare is the country’s health insurance program for people 65 or older, and for some younger people (see Common Questions below). It comes in parts:

    The parts of Medicare
    PartWhat it helps coverHow you get it
    Part A (Hospital Insurance)Inpatient care in hospitals, skilled nursing facility care, hospice care, and home health care.Through Social Security. Many people are enrolled automatically (Medicare, step 1).
    Part B (Medical Insurance)Services from doctors and other health care providers, outpatient care, home health care, durable medical equipment (like wheelchairs, walkers and hospital beds), and many preventive services (like screenings, shots or vaccines, and yearly wellness visits). It has a premium, and signing up late can add a penalty for as long as you have it.Through Social Security, with Part A, or later on its own. You can put it off while a job’s group health plan covers you.
    Part C (Medicare Advantage)An alternative to Original Medicare: a private health plan that Medicare approved, which bundles Part A, Part B and usually Part D. You may need to use the plan’s network of doctors, and most plans offer extra benefits Original Medicare does not cover, like vision, hearing and dental. You need both Part A and Part B to join one.You choose one on Medicare.gov (Medicare, step 3).
    Part D (Drug coverage)The cost of prescription drugs. Plans are run by private insurance companies that follow rules set by Medicare.You add a drug plan to Original Medicare, or get it in a Medicare Advantage Plan with drug coverage, on Medicare.gov (Medicare, step 3).

    Original Medicare is Part A and Part B. With it you can use any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare, join a separate drug plan, and buy supplemental coverage, called Medigap, from a private company to help pay your share of the costs. The other way is a Medicare Advantage Plan. You choose when you first sign up, and can change at certain times of the year.

    What Medicare costs depends on the coverage you have and the services you use. The costs come in a few kinds:

    • A premium, paid each month. Most people pay no premium for Part A, because they or a spouse paid Medicare taxes long enough while working, and no one who gets Medicare before turning 65 pays one. Part B has a monthly premium, which you pay even if you use no Part B services, and which is higher for some people depending on income.
    • A deductible, what you pay before Original Medicare starts to pay: for Part A, once for each hospital benefit period, which can be more than once a year; for Part B, once each year.
    • Coinsurance, your share of the cost of each covered service after you have paid your deductible, and copayments, such as the one a hospital charges for each outpatient service.

    A Medicare Advantage Plan’s and a drug plan’s premiums and other costs vary by plan. Medicare.gov’s Costs page lists the current amounts, several of which can change each year.

    You sign up for Part A and Part B through Social Security, which can take your premiums out of your benefit payments. You choose a Medicare Advantage Plan or a drug plan on Medicare.gov.

    Help with the costs comes from two programs: the state’s Medicare Savings Programs, which help pay Medicare premiums and, for some people, other costs; and the federal Extra Help program, which pays part of the cost of drug coverage. The step “Get help paying the costs”, below, says who qualifies and how to apply.

    What Medicare costs (Medicare)

Medicare

  1. Know when to sign up for Medicare

    Your first chance is your Initial Enrollment Period: 7 months, starting 3 months before the month you turn 65 and ending 3 months after it. Coverage always starts on the first of a month, and signing up before your birthday month means it starts sooner.

    You are enrolled automatically in Part A and Part B if you start getting Social Security benefits at least 4 months before you turn 65, or after you have received disability benefits for 24 months. Your Medicare card comes in the mail.

    If you miss your first chance, you may have to wait for the General Enrollment Period, January 1 to March 31, and pay a monthly late enrollment penalty for as long as you have Part B. Some situations open a Special Enrollment Period.

    When coverage starts (Medicare)Do I get Medicare automatically? (Medicare)

  2. Sign up through Social Security

    Medicare Part A and Part B are signed up for through the Social Security Administration, not through Medicare. The easiest way is online, with a my Social Security account, if you are 65 or older. You can also call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM (TTY 1-800-325-0778), and make an appointment.

    Sign up for Medicare (Medicare)Sign up for Medicare (Social Security)

  3. Choose your coverage, and review it every fall

    With Part A and Part B, you choose between Original Medicare, with or without a drug plan, and a Medicare Advantage Plan. Each fall, from October 15 to December 7, you can join, switch or drop a plan, and the change starts January 1.

    For free help comparing plans, call your Aging and Disability Resource Center (below), or 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), any hour of any day.

    Joining a plan (Medicare)

  4. Get help paying the costs

    New Hampshire’s Medicare Savings Programs are together called the Medicare Beneficiaries Savings Program, or the Buy-In program. They are for people with low incomes who are eligible for Medicare, and your home and vehicles do not count against their limits:

    What each Medicare Savings Program pays
    ProgramWhat it helps pay
    QMBPart A and Part B premiums, penalties for signing up late, deductibles and coinsurance. Medicare providers may not bill you for covered care.
    SLMBThe Part B premium and penalties for signing up late.
    QDWIThe Part A premium, for people with disabilities who work and have lost Medicare because of their earnings.

    Apply to the Department of Health and Human Services through NH Easy, under Medicare beneficiary assistance; its Customer Service Center answers at 1-844-ASK-DHHS (1-844-275-3447), Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Medicare advises applying even if you do not think you qualify.

    Extra Help is a federal program that pays part of your drug plan’s costs. You get it automatically if you have full-benefit Medicaid, a Medicare Savings Program or SSI. Otherwise apply through Social Security.

    NH EasyMedicare Savings Programs (NH Department of Health and Human Services)Extra Help (Medicare)

    The law: RSA 167:4-g

Social Security

  1. Apply for Social Security retirement benefits

    You can get retirement benefits from age 62 if you have worked and paid Social Security taxes for at least 10 years, and you must apply for them: they do not start on their own. Apply online on Social Security’s Apply page, which also lets you enroll in Medicare, or call 1-800-772-1213.

    Apply for benefits (Social Security)

  2. Manage your benefits online

    A my Social Security account lets you change your address or direct deposit, print proof of your benefits or a tax form, request a replacement Social Security card, and see your Social Security Statement and earnings record, without a call or a visit. You create it through Login.gov or ID.me, with an email address, a government-issued photo ID and a phone.

    my Social Security

Common Questions

Can I get Medicare before I turn 65?

Under 65, you may get Medicare if you receive Social Security disability benefits or have permanent kidney failure. SSI alone does not qualify you.

I am losing coverage through a job. How do I add Part B?

If you already have Part A and are adding Part B because you are losing coverage through a job, your employer fills out form CMS-L564, which you send to your local Social Security office.

Does applying for Extra Help also apply for a Medicare Savings Program?

Yes, unless you say not to: applying for Extra Help through Social Security also starts an application for a Medicare Savings Program.

What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?

Medicare is federal health insurance for people 65 and older and some younger people with certain disabilities or conditions. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health coverage for certain people with low incomes, families and children, pregnant women, older people and people with disabilities. If you qualify, you can have both.

Is there a limit on what I pay out of pocket?

Not in Original Medicare: there is no yearly limit on what you pay for Part A and Part B services, unless you have a Medigap policy or join a Medicare Advantage Plan. Each Medicare Advantage Plan sets its own yearly limit; once you have paid it, the plan pays for your covered health services for the rest of the calendar year. Drug coverage (Part D) has a yearly limit too, which counts your deductible, what you pay yourself, and certain payments made for you, such as through Extra Help.

What if I don't qualify for premium-free Part A?

You might be able to buy it, for a monthly premium that depends on how long you or your spouse worked and paid Medicare taxes. You also have to sign up for Part B to buy Part A, and if you don't buy Part A when you are first eligible, usually when you turn 65, you might pay a penalty.

How do I avoid a late penalty for drug coverage?

Get Medicare drug coverage when you first get Part A, Part B or both, and don't go 63 days or more without creditable drug coverage, which is coverage similar in value to Part D. If you qualify for Extra Help, you won't have to pay the Part D late enrollment penalty.

Do I still pay the Part B premium with a Medicare Advantage Plan or Medigap?

Yes. You must have Part B and keep paying its premium to stay in a Medicare Advantage Plan, or to keep a Medigap policy.

Can I manage Medicare online too?

Once you have your Medicare card, you can make a Medicare account on Medicare.gov with your Medicare Number.

Who Can Help

Medicare answers at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day (TTY 1-877-486-2048), and Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

  • Aging and Disability Resource Centers (formerly ServiceLink), a Department of Health and Human Services program with local resource centers: free counseling for older adults, adults with disabilities and caregivers, on benefits, applications, housing, Medicare and Medicaid, with no eligibility requirement. Call 1-866-634-9412, weekdays 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
  • NH Easy, the Department of Health and Human Services’ benefits site: apply for cash, medical, SNAP (food) and child care assistance, Medicare beneficiary and long-term care assistance, or check first whether you might qualify. To speak to someone, call 1-844-ASK-DHHS (1-844-275-3447).
  • Free civil legal aid. New Hampshire Legal Assistance helps people with low income and limited assets, and adults 60 and over, mainly with housing (including property tax deeding), domestic violence and family law, and public benefits. Apply through 603 Legal Aid, online or at 1-800-639-5290; it also publishes self-help articles.

NH Easy 603 Legal Aid

In the Record

Chapter 167: Public Assistance to Blind, Aged, or Disabled Persons, and to Dependent Children

Laws that changed it, newest first:

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See Also

Where This Comes From