A person delays enrolling in premium-free Medicare Part A for 3 years after first becoming eligible. The Part A late enrollment penalty adds approximately:

Why A is correct

The Medicare Part A late enrollment penalty equals 10% of the monthly Part A premium for each full year the person was eligible but did not enroll, multiplied by two. A 3-year delay therefore produces a penalty of 2 × 3 × 10%, or 60%, added permanently to the Part A premium. The doubling feature distinguishes the Part A penalty from the Part B penalty structure. Applying the formula to the 3-year delay, 60% is the correct approximate penalty increase, making A the right answer.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) 30% would reflect a single 10% per year without the doubling factor that the Part A penalty formula expressly requires. The penalty formula doubles the delayed years, so a single 10% per year understates it.
• C) 3% confuses the number of years delayed with the penalty percentage; the penalty is a percentage added to the premium, not a percentage of the delay itself. The percentage is applied to the premium, not to the length of the delay itself.
• D) Part A does carry a late enrollment penalty when a person delays enrolling and later buys Part A; the penalty is not limited to Part D. Part A has its own late enrollment penalty whenever enrollment is delayed beyond eligibility.

Memory hook

Part A penalty = double the delay, 10% per year. 3 years late = 60% extra, locked in monthly.