Q. I am retired CSRS annuitant and signed up for Medicare on my 65th birthday in December. After doing more research months later, I decided to sign up for Part B. I called Medicare and was told that I would have until December 2013 to sign up without a penalty but that open season didn’t start until January 2014. I was further told that I would incur a $10-per-month penalty. I called back a week or so later for clarification and was told I could sign up prior to 2014 and not pay the penalty. What is the correct answer?
Browsing: Open season
Q. I am a 66-year-old military retiree who has health insurance coverage under Medicare parts A & B and Tricare for Life. In addition, I retired under FERS, but I have never had individual Federal Employees Health Benefits because I have been covered under my wife’s (a FERS civil servant) family FEHB plan for 20 years. She is retiring in a month and plans to continue her FEHB policy for at least five years until she reaches age 65, when she is Medicare eligible. If my wife switches at retirement from a family to an individual FEHB plan, will I…
Q. Do you know how much rates will go up in new open season 2014 on plans? Also, the deductible amount on each plan? I have National Association of Letter Carriers Cigna and am retired under FERS. Are there any new plans coming up?
Q. I am 68, retired Navy enlisted, also retired Postal Service. I pay almost $500 per month for my Federal Employees Health Benefits through the post office. I have Medicare parts A and B. I am a long-term leukemia survivor (23 years) and have Type 2 diabetes that I take pills and insulin to control. My wife is 65 and has relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis, for which she takes daily injections of copaxone to control. Other than some weakness and balance issues, she is suffering no noticeable effects from her MS. She, too, has Medicare parts A and B. The cost…
Q. My husband is filing for federal medical retirement and his agency may be letting him go during this process. He currently has a family plan that includes me and the kids for his health insurance. When they let him go, we may not be able to afford to keep the entire family on his health plan under COBRA. If he drops the kids and me during the COBRA period, will it affect what insurance plan he will receive once his federal medical retirement is approved?
Q. My wife, who is younger than me, is a retired federal employee with health insurance (FEHB: Blue Cross) that covers both of us. I will turn 65 this year. If I fail to take Medicare Part B within three months of turning 65, then I will have to: 1. Wait for open enrollment for Medicare and then six months; and 2. Pay a penalty for each year. When I called Blue Cross, they indicated that if my wife continues with her plan, there is no reason to take Part B. Social Security warns me about the 10 percent-per-year cost…
Q. I am a Defense Department employee. I have Government Employees Health Association insurance. I plan to retire in five years at 62 years of age and seven years of service with the federal government. Can I continue GEHA into retirement, or can I switch to another company? Do my premiums remain the same as active government employees?
Q. I am five years older than my wife, retired under CSRS and about to turn 65 in January. My wife is a federal employee and has been covered as a dependent under my family policy for many years. She may be retiring within three years or so. I plan to sign up for Medicare parts A and B and keep Blue Cross coverage so I don’t need to sign up for Medicare Part D. 1. I understand it may be cheaper under Medicare to have individual Blue Cross policies rather than a family policy. 2. Also, my wife can…
Q. I am married and 50 years old with 23 years of service. I have self-only health coverage. Can I add family coverage prior to accepting and early retirement? How long can I keep the family policy?
Q. I am CSRS Offset with more than 31 years of service. I had insurance through my husband’s work until five years ago. Then I signed up for Federal Employees Health Benefits single coverage health insurance. His insurance continued to cover him and our children. Later, a co-worker told me that, to have FEHB family coverage in retirement, I would have to have five years of family coverage before I retire.