I’m 69. My wife is 65. She has not worked enough to qualify for MediCare on her own right, but we’ve been married for much longer than 10 years so everything I’ve read and been told means she’s eligible through me.
I applied on line for Medicare only not Social Security as I don’t plan to take that until I reach 70. It went fine.
The computer automatically rejected her application, but implied she could get it if she also applied for Social Security at the same time. My only guess is that the computer cannot identify her as eligible until she is linked to me, and it will only do that when she applies for spousal Social Security benefits.
Of course I did this on a Friday evening when I can’t get an official answer until Monday probably. But I wonder if anyone has further insight on this.
You didn’t apply for Medicare when you were 65? I assume you have insurance, and you did whatever paperwork is required to show them that you are covered then. If not, that could be part of the problem.
My wife and I both got Medicare without also going on Social Security with no issues, but she had enough quarters for it.
Anyhow, I found our local SS office to be quite efficient and helpful, but the wait time for an appointment is long. Yours might be better.
Basically your wife should be able to get Medicare, and even those who did not pay into the system can get it but have to pay a premium for part A.
I think you may be right that they did not link her to you, but she should have been eligible anyway with a premium - not rejected. Also, typically spouses do not get Medicare at the same time, so I doubt there is a double signup option.
I don’t remember anything about being eligible based on a spouse when I signed up, but I wasn’t really paying attention to that part of the process.
I had a good book called Medicare for Dummies but my wife seems to have lent it to someone. Maybe you can go to a library or bookstore and see what one of the many guide books says about it.