Q. As a CSRS employee, I was told my spouse is eligible to enroll in health insurance under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program as long as the survivor annuity we agree to is a minimum of $1. Is that information correct?
Browsing: SURVIVOR BENEFITS
Q. I am a retired civil service annuitant. I am approaching 65, and my wife is 61. We are enrolled in the family Blue Cross/Blue Shield health plan. What would happen to my wife’s coverage if I enrolled in one of the Medicare plans? Would I be better off to skip the Medicare options because she has not reached Medicare age?
Q. If I go in a nursing home, does my wife retain rights to my CSRS annuity, or are they relinquished to the nursing home?
Q. My husband, a federal retiree, has recently been approved for Medicaid and is in a long-term care facility. When I submitted the application on his behalf, I also submitted the information that we had Blue Cross/Blue Shield for our primary insurance. We both opted out of taking Medicare Part B at retirement, and I am covered on his BC/BS plan. Evidently, when Medicaid was approved, someone decided that he also needed Part B and Part D, too. I was horrified to discover that he had been enrolled in these plans without his knowledge or permission. We have long since…
Q. I retired from government almost eight years ago. I have had Kaiser health insurance all this time. I am about to turn 65. I have to do something with Medicare sign-up, so I spent time with my health plan provider (Kaiser Perm) the other day and the person we talked to wasn’t sure my wife would continue on my plan should I go with them for part B or their Senior Advantage plan. I told the rep I was sure she would, but the Kaiser rep said I needed to check with the government. My wife is five years…
Q. I am thinking about canceling my health insurance to go under my spouse’s plan. He is not an employee of the government. I have been with the government for 25 years. I know you must carry the insurance for five years in a row to carry it into retirement. I am not in that window. If I cancel it, can I re-enroll later if I decide to get back on (for example, in open season 2015)?
Q. I will be eligible for Medicare in 2014. Is there a brochure that suggests the best Federal Employees Health Benefits plan to choose when signing up for Medicare. My husband is receiving the Medicare benefits with my standard Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan. In 2014, I will be paying over $400 per month for our premium with standard BC/BS. I would like to know if it would be beneficial for me to switch to basic BC/BS vs. standard once I become eligible for Medicare.
Q. I am a Postal Service retiree (CSRS) with the Blue Cross self-and-family high option. My spouse turns 65 in January. Can I continue to carry him on my plan and use it as supplemental insurance? Does he have to elect Medicare Part B, or can he just have Part A and still be covered under my insurance?
Q. I am retired and have Medicare with Blue Cross/Blue Shield as my secondary. I have to keep the family plan coverage to keep my wife covered. She is a private-sector retiree and will turn 65 in September 2014 and will be applying for her Medicare coverage. We both want to keep BC/BS as our secondary. Will we both have to go on as individual plans? If so, whom do we contact: the Office of Personnel Management, or will BC/BS do this when we tell them?
Q. My husband and I retired from federal service. I was on his insurance. When he died in 2000, the insurance was put in my name. I remarried in 2006 and would like to put my husband on my insurance. Can I do this in the open season. How?