For years, insurance agents have advised their Medicare-eligible clients who are still working and coveredunder their employer’s group health plan to decline Medicare PartB. There is a monthly premium for Part B coverage, and since thegroup plan is primary for companies with 20 or more employees,enrolling in Part B is unlikely to provide much additionalprotection.

These employees, their brokers explain, can simply enroll inPart B when they retire with no penalty and no waiting period sincethey are coming off of a group insurance plan. Part A, though, is adifferent story. By the time they reach age 65, most people havepaid into the Medicare system for long enough to receive Part A atno charge — why not take it if it’s free?

The reason, of course, is that enrollment in either Part A orPart B of Medicare makes an individual who’s covered by anHSA-qualified high deductible health plan ineligible to contributeto a health savings account. As a result, some brokers are nowrecommending that, in addition to Part B, their clients alsopostpone enrollment in Medicare Part A.