How to sign up for Medicare

If I'm currently unemployed, do I still get my health coverage automatically, or am I required to be officially registered with the Department of Labor?
Or is it enough to just physically show up at a local Medicare office once every three months so they can verify that I'm actually living here in the States?

If you're already collecting unemployment through the IRS, there's no need to check in with them every 90 days.

If you aren't on the rolls, then yeah, you're required to report in.

It’s just about reporting in, and IRS as far as I know, it’s because you don't have to be registered with the Social Security Administration anymore. They used to spin these stories about twenty years ago, claiming if you weren't on the SSA rolls you'd lose your health coverage entirely, so I suppose they eventually landed on this whole idea of reporting directly to Medicare. I can't help but wonder how bad the lines are at those offices, though. If it's anything like the crowds at the Department of Justice over in Providence, it’s going to be a total nightmare.

Andrew Mitchell41 said:I get the logic behind the 90-day rule—I really do—but this whole thing about filing paperwork and submitting documents? I don't see why they can't just keep doing what we did during the pandemic. Apparently, they can't anymore because they have too many 🙄 employees to justify keeping those processes streamlined.
Back during the lockdown, it was perfectly standard to just shoot an email over to my contact in Seattle with a photo of my ID, my Medicare card, my Social Security card, and that specific form from the National Weather Service.

edit: Are those service counters usually packed like a Department of Justice office, or is it something you can actually "survive" without losing your mind?

I actually applied via email right before they rolled this new rule in.
I did go in once to handle things in person over in Naperville, and honestly? There wasn't a soul in sight.

Sent from my iPhone using Twitter

Just to confirm, I went ahead and sent over all my documentation via email yesterday afternoon. Then, out of nowhere this morning, I get a call from the local branch letting me know they’ve received everything and processed my file. They told me I just need to drop by in person in about three months to make sure my Medicare coverage stays active. So, yeah, it’s doable—though it clearly depends on which specific office you happen to be dealing with.
I guess I should thank them for saving me a fifty-mile trek and the inevitable headache of standing in line for hours.