Q. I am retired and have Blue Cross/Blue Shield Basic for my health plan. I will be 65 in May and need to make a decision on whether I should get Part B when I have my current FEHB coverage. If I decide to take Part B, there will be another monthly cost. Is there any FEHB plan that would benefit me to enroll in and also keep the costs down if I decided to take Part B? This is confusing to me.
A. It’s confusing to you because it’s confusing to everyone faced with that decision. Unfortunately, there isn’t any way to make it less confusing. You’ll have to consider your current and anticipated health care needs. Then you’ll need to review the pluses and minuses of your current plan and Medicare Part B to see if there’s anything to be gained by enrolling in Part B. Finally, you’ll need to look at some other FEHB plans with lower premium costs to see if they’ll provide you with what you need and want, while offsetting some of the cost of Part B.
