ala kavanaugh and dt and any other gop under oath.

and these are basic questions that I had to answer. I think it is trying to determine if you have existing insurance from an employer, but it might apply more toward the supplemental insurance issue.

so trying to find this info now is strange.

And I did contact Medicare - they have a 24/7 chat line - and, of course, they do not ask. "Your provider should be able to submit claims to Medicare without this info."

It's the Coverage Starts date.

Than my age. Seems to be a thing with aspies.

You become eligible for Medicare at age 65, whether you are still working or not. If you are still working, as I was, you sign up for Part A. When you leave the paid job that offers health care, you then sign up for Part B. Doing a supplemental or an Advantage Plan is a personal decision based on what you think is best for you.

The front desk clerk was wrong. Pure and simple.

If there's a gap (I think it's more than three months) between turning 65 and when you apply for Part B or D, then the gap needs to be explained. If you can't explain it, then your monthly charge goes up, permanently. I waited until I was 68 to apply, because I was on my wife's insurance from her job. When she retired, I had to get a form from her H.R. department that explained why I wasn't on Medicare B/D. The folks at the Social Security office were satisfied with the form, so no penalty.

I didn't know Medicare would use hospital staff to get their paperwork right.

But if you have your Medicare card it doesn't matter if you retired yesterday or in 1966.

And yes, I'm fully aware of delaying Medicare Part B because I did exactly the same thing only in my case it was because I continued to work for a year after I turned 65.

But if you've got your card and you're enrolled, it no longer matters to Medicare (other than if you stupidly delayed and didn't enroll in Part B when you should have and are now paying the penalty) what date you retired. And it absolutely shouldn't to the person taking your card and checking you in at the doctor's office.

It's between you and Medicare how much you pay, whether you pay the "normal" amount, or have a permanent penalty because of some unexcused delay, or if you have a year-by-year "penalty" because your income was high a couple of years ago. All the nurse/clerk should care about is that you have Medicare (and supplemental).