Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 3/5
A person who must pay a premium for Medicare Part A delays enrolling for 3 years after becoming eligible without employer coverage. What late enrollment penalty applies?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
For beneficiaries who must pay a premium for Medicare Part A, the late enrollment penalty increases the monthly premium by 10% for a period equal to twice the number of years the person was eligible but did not enroll. A 3-year delay therefore produces a 10% surcharge lasting 6 years. The penalty does not apply to people who receive premium-free Part A, because they can enroll at any time without penalty. This doubling formula, two times the delay at 10% per year, is a distinctive Medicare fact and a common calculation question.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) The surcharge period is twice the delay, not equal to it; 3 years of delay yields 6 years of penalty, not 3.
- C) The premium is increased by 10%, not doubled, and the increase lasts for the penalty period rather than forever.
- D) A late enrollment penalty does apply to premium-paying Part A beneficiaries; only premium-free Part A is penalty-free.
Memory hook
Part A penalty doubles the delay: three years late means six years of a 10 percent premium bump.