Creditable Coverage: Requirements, Pre-Existing Conditions

By
Julia Kagan
Julia Kagan
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Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia.

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Updated September 29, 2023
Reviewed by Eric Estevez
Part of the Series
Guide to Medicare
Medicare Basics
  1. What Is Medicare? How It Works, Who Qualifies, and How to Enroll
  2. Do You Need All 4 Parts?
  3. Eligibility Age
  4. Part A Definition
  5. Part B Definition
How Medicare Works
  1. Medicare After Retirement
  2. How Medicare Works If You're Not Retired
  3. Medicare Hold Harmless Provision
  4. Medicare Star Ratings
  5. Medicare Wages
  6. When Doctors Don't Take Medicare
Medicare Part D (Prescriptions)
  1. Part D Definition
  2. Avoid the Part D Premium Penalty
  3. Creditable Coverage
    CURRENT ARTICLE
  4. Best Part D Providers
Medigap Insurance
  1. Medigap Definition
  2. Medicare Supplementary Medical Insurance
  3. Who Needs Medigap
  4. Best Medigap Providers
  5. Best Plan F Providers
  6. Best Plan G Providers
Medicare Advantage (Part C)
  1. Medicare Advantage Definition
  2. Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage
  3. Pitfalls
  4. Best Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare vs. Medicaid
  1. Medicare vs. Medicaid: What's the Difference?
  2. How Much Medicaid and Medicare Cost

What Is Creditable Coverage?

Creditable coverage is a health insurance, prescription drug, or other health benefit plan that meets a minimum set of qualifications. Types of creditable coverage plans include group and individual health plans, and student health plans, as well as a variety of government-sponsored or government-provided plans. Creditable coverage is used to determine whether policyholders have to pay late enrollment penalties or, in some cases, coverage and costs associated with pre-existing conditions.

Key Takeaways

  • Creditable coverage is a health benefit, prescription drug, or health insurance plan—including individual and group health plans—that meet a minimum set of qualifications.
  • Creditable coverage is a measure used to figure out if policyholders must pay late enrollment penalties or, in some cases, coverage and costs associated with pre-existing conditions.
  • Most companies offering prescription drug coverage to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries have to disclose their status as creditable or non-creditable coverage programs.

How Creditable Coverage Works

Creditable coverage is most closely associated with prescription drug coverage. Most companies that provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries must disclose their status as creditable or non-creditable coverage. Creditable coverage means that the policy meets or exceeds the coverage offered by a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.

This disclosure provides Medicare-eligible beneficiaries with important information relating to their Medicare Part D enrollment and is mandatory whether the insurer is primary or secondary to Medicare. If the policyholder’s coverage is considered creditable, they may be eligible for subsidies. A creditable coverage notice also allows prescription drug policyholders who are not using Medicare to avoid paying a Part D late enrollment penalty.

Make sure to hold on to a creditable coverage notice because you may want to join a Medicare drug plan in the future and will need to prove you don’t owe penalties. Medicare beneficiaries not covered under creditable prescription drug coverage, and who choose not to enroll before the end of their initial enrollment period for Part D, will usually have to pay a higher premium on a permanent basis if they subsequently enroll.

Creditable Coverage Requirements

In order to be considered creditable, a prescription drug plan must meet these four requirements:

  • Provide coverage for both brand and generic prescription medication
  • Provide the policyholder with a reasonably broad option of medication providers, or a mail-order option
  • Pay at least 60% of the cost of prescription expenses
  • Either not have an annual benefit maximum, or have a low deductible

You may have creditable coverage through a current or former employer, trade union, or one of the following:

  • Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) Program
  • Veterans' Benefits
  • TRICARE (military health benefits)
  • Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA)
  • Indian Health Services

You also might have creditable coverage if you get health insurance coverage through your spouse's employer or if you’re on a COBRA plan.

Creditable Coverage and Pre-Existing Conditions

Some people with pre-existing conditions may find that their conditions are excluded from their health insurance plan coverage, although this is no longer the norm thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Some policies still allow insurers to apply an exclusion period to these conditions, which increase the costs for which you are responsible.

The passage of the ACA blocked many insurers from being able to use this exclusion period but it can still happen because they have been covered by previous policies. Medicare typically covers pre-existing conditions without lengthy waits.

A legacy individual health insurance policy is one that you bought for yourself or your family on or before March 23, 2010, that has not been changed in certain ways that reduce benefits or increase costs to consumers.

If you have prior creditable coverage, it can reduce the exclusion period since creditable coverage means that you had insurance over a period of time. But there is a limited window in which creditable coverage applies. If you let your coverage expire without obtaining new coverage within a certain number of days, for example, you may be responsible for some penalties.

What is creditable coverage?

Creditable coverage is a health insurance or health benefit plan that meets a minimum set of qualifications. Some examples include group and individual health plans, student health plans, and government-provided plans.

How do I know if I have creditable coverage?

In order to be considered creditable, the coverage plan's prescription drug coverage must meet or exceed the value of Medicare Part D. Most companies offering prescription drug coverage are required to disclose their status as creditable or non-creditable coverage programs.


Will my preexisting conditions be covered by Medicare?

It depends what coverage you have. For the first six months of coverage, Medigap insurance companies can refuse to cover extra costs from preexisting conditions. After six months, the Medigap policy will cover your pre-existing condition. For another option, you can join Medicare Advantage, even with preexisting conditions.

Article Sources
Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

  1. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "Creditable Coverage and Late Enrollment Penalty."

  2. Health Insurance Marketplace. "Creditable Coverage."

  3. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "Creditable Coverage."

  4. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "What Is Creditable Coverage?"

  5. United Healthcare. “Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage.”

  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "How Part D Works With Other Insurance."

  7. U.S. Congress. "H.R.3590 - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."

  8. Health Insurance Marketplace. "Grandfathered Health Plan."

  9. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "Choosing a Medigap Policy: A Guide to Health Insurance for People with Medicare," Page 14.

  10. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "Things to Know About Medicare Advantage Plans."

Part of the Series
Guide to Medicare
Medicare Basics
  1. What Is Medicare? How It Works, Who Qualifies, and How to Enroll
  2. Do You Need All 4 Parts?
  3. Eligibility Age
  4. Part A Definition
  5. Part B Definition
How Medicare Works
  1. Medicare After Retirement
  2. How Medicare Works If You're Not Retired
  3. Medicare Hold Harmless Provision
  4. Medicare Star Ratings
  5. Medicare Wages
  6. When Doctors Don't Take Medicare
Medicare Part D (Prescriptions)
  1. Part D Definition
  2. Avoid the Part D Premium Penalty
  3. Creditable Coverage
    CURRENT ARTICLE
  4. Best Part D Providers
Medigap Insurance
  1. Medigap Definition
  2. Medicare Supplementary Medical Insurance
  3. Who Needs Medigap
  4. Best Medigap Providers
  5. Best Plan F Providers
  6. Best Plan G Providers
Medicare Advantage (Part C)
  1. Medicare Advantage Definition
  2. Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage
  3. Pitfalls
  4. Best Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare vs. Medicaid
  1. Medicare vs. Medicaid: What's the Difference?
  2. How Much Medicaid and Medicare Cost