Q. I am a retired federal employee (64 years old) and still on federal health insurance. My wife is turning 65 this month. Does she have to sign up for Medicare Part B to avoid a future penalty, or can she wait until I am 65?
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Q. I am a CSRS retiree. I retired in 2005. I am a subscriber to the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, specifically Blue Cross-Blue Shield’s Standard Option with family coverage. My wife and I are also qualified for Medicare Parts A and B. That makes Medicare the primary coverage and FEHB/BC-BS the secondary coverage for any health benefits paid. 1. What (if any) changes in the plan’s coverages are anticipated for 2014 and beyond, due to the health care law? 2. Does OPM anticipate that current retirees/program members will be forced into a health care provider’s coverage offered under the…
Q. I now have 2½ years of government service and am 66. When I retire in 2½ years, I’ll have five years with the government. Will I get the option to retain my Federal Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama health insurance? If I would rather quit working for the government in one year, do I lose the opportunity to keep my federal BC/BS of Alabama coverage? I have total time in government employment today of only three years. I am contemplating quitting next year. What is the impact to my federal BC/BS insurance coverage? I signed up for Medicare Part…
Q. My wife and I are civil service retirees. We both are employed with health insurance. We still have FEHB. I am planning to retire shortly. I will be able to transfer to my wife’s plan with her employer. After she retires, we will have about three or four years of coverage under that plan. After that, do we have to decide on whether to get Medicare Part B? Is my analysis correct?
Q. I will be turning 65 next month. I have Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage. I just enrolled for Medicare Part B. I am a retired reservist. I intend to enroll in Tricare for Life. DEERS requires that I disenroll from FEHB to enroll in Tricare for Life when I start Part B coverage My HR person has no idea whether I can drop my FEHB. Where can I get definitive information on this issue (disenrolling from FEHB at 65) to show HR?
Q. I’ve been retired from for a year and soon will be 65. I have to keep medical for my wife, so if I keep a family plan under Federal Employees Health Benefits, do I need to pay for Medicare Part B? If not, can I apply for it in the future without a penalty after my wife turns 65?
Q. I am a retiree from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., with health insurance. Turning 65. What happens about Medicare, and which insurance is primary? Does the health insurance turn to a supplement policy? Do you need Medicare A & B? I have only signed up for Medicare A.
Q. I am a federal retiree and have the standard BC/BS coverage for my spouse and myself, plus Medicare Parts A and B. Our only out-of-pocket expenses with these plans are co-pays for prescriptions. Other federal retirees tell me I am over-insured and should drop Medicare Part B. If I did this, would I still have the same coverage I have now, or would I then have out-of-pocket expenses?
Q. I retired in 2009 under CSRS. I am close to 65, and the answer to one of the questions asked states that people in CSRS are not eligible for Medicare because they didn’t pay into Social Security. I was in CSRS before the change to FERS and stayed with CSRS. I had Medicare deductions taken from my pay from 1983-84 till I retired in 2009. Do the Medicare funds I paid since 1983 make me eligible for Medicare or just part of it? So which is right? I need to know so I can do what needs to be…
Q. I am 57 and a recent CSRS retiree. My husband is 67 and receives Social Security. He has Medicare Part A and is covered under my Federal Employees Health Benefits insurance plan. He is in the eight-month period after my retirement to enroll without penalty in Medicare Part B. Can he suspend his coverage in the FEHBP to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan? Then I could change my FEHBP enrollment to self-only, which would reduce our insurance costs. Or is suspension of FEHB only an option for annuitants? A. He can’t suspend his coverage under the FEHB program.…