To be clear, Medicare does not always look back 6 months. It does so ONLY when you apply for Medicare more than 6 months after your FRA date (Full Retirement Age).
Normally, Medicare would start when you turn 65. If you apply for Social Security (which automatically applies for Medicare Part A (at least) for you) after your FRA, then the SSA looks to see how far past your 65th birthday you are. If you are past your 65th birthday, then the SSA will backdate your Medicare coverage to age 65 - but no more than 6 months.
In other words, many taxpayers don't have a 6 month backdate.
So before you run around with amending returns or getting corrected forms, let's find out what your FRA date is and what date you applied to start coverage. Then we'll work back from there.
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