There are a number of you who seem pretty knowledgable about Medicare. I need some pointers with my mother in law's Medicare. She's turning 70 this year and was recently kicked off her Obamacare plan. As with my wife she is a Brazilian immigrant who legally emigrated to the US and has recently become a naturalized citizen.
Since neither her or my wife are familiarized with a lot of US governmental systems, and I myself (Natural born US citizen) have been fairly ignorant of Medicare until somewhat recently, I need some pointers about what to do next. I want to help her, because she is just about the nicest MIL that anyone has ever had. I don't think she has ever said a cross word to me in the 7 years that my wife and I have been together. She also speaks what I would call halting English at best.
Questions:
She has Social Security based on the time worked in the US at relatively low wage jobs, so suffice it to say, not very much. Also has some Brazil benefits from her deceased husband but that also is not very much. Her 3 kids including my wife pay her apartment rent. So anything that involves high out of pocket is probably going to come out of my wife and I, and wife's brother and syster's pockets.
Any advice appreciated...
Since neither her or my wife are familiarized with a lot of US governmental systems, and I myself (Natural born US citizen) have been fairly ignorant of Medicare until somewhat recently, I need some pointers about what to do next. I want to help her, because she is just about the nicest MIL that anyone has ever had. I don't think she has ever said a cross word to me in the 7 years that my wife and I have been together. She also speaks what I would call halting English at best.
Questions:
- Where do you go to enroll?
- Can I enroll her now?
- If not, when is the next open enrollment period?
- Is there a financial penalty for not enrolling her sooner?
- Are there coverage limitations based on her late enrollment?
- What is the best coverage for someone of relatively limited means?
She has Social Security based on the time worked in the US at relatively low wage jobs, so suffice it to say, not very much. Also has some Brazil benefits from her deceased husband but that also is not very much. Her 3 kids including my wife pay her apartment rent. So anything that involves high out of pocket is probably going to come out of my wife and I, and wife's brother and syster's pockets.
Any advice appreciated...