I retired Oct 30 and was insured through Employer through Nov 30. I applied for Medicare Part B Oct 22 and noted employer "Coverage will term 11/30/2020 due to retirement." Then also noted "Part B must be effective 12/1/2020". When I received Medicare cards for me and my husband who is going to be insured through my employer for our Part B supplement, the start date noted on the cards was 11/1/2020. How do I correct the date. I am getting nowhere with SSA offices. Spoke to my local office and the man was so mean and rude, I began crying. Asked to speak to his supervisor and he wouldn't let me. Is there a way to update the information without refusing coverage and reapplying?

Hi,

Since you don't mention your birth date, I can't tell for sure whether or not you're allowed to start your Part B coverage effective 12/1/2020. If you reached age 65 within the last 3 months you'd still be in your initial enrollment period (IEP) for Medicare, and if that's the case you couldn't pick and choose the start date for your Part B coverage. When you're in an IEP, the start date of your Part B coverage is determined by the month in which you file your application.

However, if you were outside of your IEP when you filed for Part B, it sounds like you should have been allowed to choose 12/1/2020 as the start date for your coverage. There's probably not much you can do to get the date changed other than working with Social Security, although you could contact the offices one of your congressional representatives (i.e. a U.S. senator from your state or the representative from your congressional district) to see if they'd be willing to contact Social Security on your behalf. You should be sure to mention the bad experience you had with the Social Security representative if you do contact a congressperson's office. The type of treatment that you received should not happen. Hopefully, if you re-contact Social Security you'll be able to speak with someone who'll be more helpful and professional.

Best, Jerry