Turning 65 in a couple of months, but intending to stay fully employed, I was amazed to find that since I work for a company of less than 20 my GHI will cease and I HAVE to sign up for full medicare coverage (if I want to have full coverage). Why are the rules so different for companies with less than 20 employees? It is also intimated the company is prohibited from doing many things vs. not being required. I could not find any on point information myself on the internet. Some help please.
First, your company is perfectly free to continue to cover you with GHI- they may not be required to, but they definitely can. In looking around , it's unclear to me whether your company can simply discontinue your GHI. What definitely happens you are required to enroll in Medicare and Medicare becomes primary and your employer's coverage becomes secondary ( It is the reverse for employers with more than 20 employees).
Lots of laws only apply to companies with more than a certain number of employees - and there are probably a whole bunch of reasons, but one of the main ones is that something that’s not a huge burden for a larger company ( 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave for employers with 50 or more employees) may be impossible for a smaller company ( that same leave for a retail store with 4 employees)
I recommend that you speak with a Medicare insurance broker.
In particular, pay attention to what will happen to your six month eligibility period for a Medicare Supplement (MediGap) plan. IMHO, MediGap is better than Medicare Advantage but there are rules about when you can sign up without a risk of being denied.
As doreen says, the crux of the matter is that your employer-based coverage becomes secondary to Medicare once you are Medicare eligible by turning 65. This site can give you a lot of user-friendly information: Job-based insurance when you turn 65 - Medicare Interactive