Medicare of social security?

Question

I would like to know whether the person lives out of the US can resign from medicare of social security or not.

One of my friends is a Japanese, but she got married with an American man, so she has a social security #

and has received payments of it. She said that she has paid for medicare as a part of social security,

but because her spouse passed away a few years ago, so she came back to Japan.

She said she doesn't have a plan to go back in the US because she has no relatives there.

She also has a national insurance in Japan so she doesn't pay for medicare. Can she resign from the medicare system?

If she can, how she can do it.

Please advise.

Answer 1

She can, but why would she want to?  

She can by contacting the social security office.

Answer 2

Most people do not pay a monthly Part A premium because they or a spouse has 40 or more quarters of Medicare-covered employment. Therefore there would be no reason to discontinue Part A.

However, the Medicare Part B monthly premium is $96.40 in 2008. Notify Social Security that you want to discontinue only Part B.

Answer 3

Yes, she can decline her current medicare A&B coverage. She should call 1800-Medicare & ask for assistance regarding canceling her benefits. (if she pays for part A & B, there may be a 2 step process to declining both parts.)

Her social security benefits seem to be based on the work history of her deceased spouse. If she is drawing his benefits, she will need to call the social security administration directly.