Kenny, I went to the SS office in Staunton and got a wonderful person who set it out in plain black and white. She said she could not advise me.... but made it clear the "best route" she thought would help me. My full retirement age was at 66. I applied and got my medicare at 65 and 3 months because I was going to lose my full time benefits/insurance at work and waited to the end of that year to get all the match the company put into my health savings account. But take the medicare as soon as you can...get the best supplement policy, I have a plan F and it covers EVERYTHING after a deductible of about $200 for the year. No co-pays nothing. Costs me 100/mo for the plan.... but I had no health issues like you have had.
By waiting for the YEAR that you become eligible for full retirement, you can get the added benefit of earning alot more money from a job than if you retire ahead. I was 65 in sept/2018. If I had taken SS then, I could only earn 14,000 in outside income (or something like that.... maybe it was 17,000). By waiting til January of 2019, the YEAR in which I turned 66 which was full retirement age, I could earn up to 42,000 in additional income BEFORE I would start losing the $1 for every $2 that you earn, off the SS check. So, if you anticipate earning much money after you start SS you need to be aware of the potential of losing some of the SS if you reach the threshold...
I get about $60 less per year by taking it at 65 +3 months (Jan 2019 when I started it - the Year I turned 66 so I could make more money at a job) Than if I had waited to Sept when I was actually 66. Will take me to about 78 to get the same total amount and then I will get less over my lifetime than if I had waited to take it at 70.
That extra 1,000+ a month, from the SS check, made it possible to buy my house this past week.... it has made things alot more comfortable for me financially. I never made alot at work to start with and the money in my retirement gave me the downpayment with still a little left in there. The thing is I am really concerned that they are talking about starting to tax retirement accounts more and somewhere along the line, we are not going to be able to get out what all we have put in. I am thinking seriously of starting to take that which will be very little, just so that the govt can't tax it more, and to just stash that cash away.
We just had a milk tester pass away. She had fought cancer, and won, was working full time still..... 64 years old of a heart attack. She will never see the SS.
Our former general mgr retired years ago at 65..... died 3 months later....Hadn't taken his SS until he retired, which I get. But you have been lucky, you have managed to survive the many surgeries and problems you have overcome. I would get a tax person to help you to decide if it is worth the lower amount against the salary that you earn. That would be the deciding factor for me. For now, you would "give back to the govt" part of the SS for any amount you earn in the paycheck over the amount allowed. Once you quit working, you would not have to give any "back" but would revert to the full amount you are "entitled to" get at the retirement age you chose. So if you start taking it at 63 , then that is the amount you will get once you retire and are not getting a full paycheck to where you are paying some back.
I really would advise you to talk to a SS person, find out about the rule about the "year you are eligible" .... like mine was shown to me, as far as the earnings amount..... and take it as soon as you can. And if you have a tax person that is well schooled in SS ins and outs.....talk to them.