You can still enroll in Medicare Part B, when the enrollment period for that begins. You will pay a penalty, in the form of a higher premium, but you can still get back in. And you definitely need to do that. The sooner you do it, the less your premium will be. More than likely, the state of Massachsetts will pay that premium for you . . . eventually . . . if your income and assets are limited. You might have to pay a couple of months out of your pocket, but most of that will be reimbursed to you, if you are below a certain income level. You need to have a little patience. No state in the USA does more than your state to help its low income citizens access all the healthcare they need. In that regard, you are lucky. Also, you live in a state where cost of living is quite high. Massachusetts is quite decent in what they consider to be the income level below which you are eligible for state help. So that is lucky for you, too.

Whatever state employee you talked to way back when did an awful job of explaining things. Often these folks are just clerks. You ended up believing a lot of things that are just plain false. Someone at your local Income Support office should be available to help you get all of this stuff straight.