Q. I am 65 years old and am employed full time by the federal government. I will continue my federal employment for several years. I am covered under Federal Employees Health Benefits and pay for Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance. If I decline Part B now and decide to take it later, will I be subject to the Medicare Premium penalty? A. Yes, you can decline Part B while you are still employed without penalty. When you are no longer employed, you’ll have an eight-month window in which to enroll, penalty-free, which begins the first full month after you retire.
Browsing: Medicare Part B
Q. I will be a CSRS retiree soon enrolled on my younger wife’s FEHB family plan. Does it make sense for me to enroll in Medicare part B being on her plan? Will her premiums be affected if I do? A. Her premiums won’t be affected one way or the other. Whether you should enroll in Medicare Part B is up to you to decide based on your current and projected health needs. Just remember this: If you don’t enroll in Part B and later decide that you want to do that, the cost of those premiums will be 10…
Q. I am 59 years old and covered under Federal Employees Health Benefits as the spouse of a CSRS annuitant. Due to a covered disability, I have been receiving Social Security Disability Benefits for the past 18 months and was just advised that I will be eligible for Medicare Parts A and B in June. If I decline Part B and decide to take it later, will I be subject to the Medicare Premium penalty? A. Yes.
Q. I am retired with Blue Cross/Blue Shield and will be signing up for Medicare Part A soon to avoid penalties for Part B and Part D. Does my BC/BS meet the “creditable plan” requirement to avoid penalties? I have been told “yes and no” on the phone by Medicare. If I sign up for an HMO with a lower cost, will I meet “creditable plan” standards if I drop Federal Employees Health Benefits? Can I re-sign up for BC/BS later if I don’t like the coverage? A. The “creditable plan” feature you’re referring to only applies to those who…
Q. On Jan. 18, there was question about which is primary between these two programs, and the answer ended with “whether you keep both [Federal Employees Health Benefits] and Tricare is something you’ll have to decide.” How do you decide? Where can I find a clear, side-by-side comparison of my FEHB (BC/BS standard in my case) and Tricare for Life — one that is not comparing apples to oranges? I have been told I don’t really need FEHB because TFL is “very comprehensive,” but how can I find out exactly what, if anything, FEHB would cover that TFL wouldn’t. P.S.…
Q. I am enrolled in Medicare Part A and B. I also have Tricare for Life and Federal Employees Health Benefits (Blue Cross/Blue Shield). My doctor has opted out of Medicare and wants $5,000 for a hip replacement. Will FEHB pay his fee? A. The only way to find out how much of your doctor’s fee your FEHB plan will pay is to ask them.
Q. When I turn 65, I can enroll in Medicare Parts A and B. The other parts do not interest me. At this time, I am enrolled in a Federal Employees Health Benefits plan. I am a veteran who is 60 percent disabled, and the Veterans Affairs Department covers my medical needs at 100 percent plus meds if I use its facility. At age 65, I would like to suspend my FEHB plan and use Medicare Parts A and B plus my VA. Can I suspend my FEHB under this situation? A. No, you can’t.
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…
Q. I am a Bureau of Prisons retiree with GEHA health insurance. Should I enroll in Medicare B? I know I don’t have to enroll in Medicare B, but would like to know the pros and cons of not enrolling. It seems the only entity that would benefit from that enrollment would be GEHA, or whichever health plan I enroll in, as it would automatically be deemed secondary with Medicare Part B as the primary, thereby avoiding paying the full cost of whatever medical procedure I might receive. If I sign up for Medicare B, won’t I be paying twice…
Q. I am retiring from the VA when I am 62. I hold the insurance for myself and my husband, and I am able to keep family health benefits when I retire. My husband is two years and nine months younger than I am. When I reach 65, can I still keep GEHA insurance until my husband reaches 65 and can start drawing Medicare on his own? I do not want him not having heath insurance when he is 62. I heard someone say that at 65 I could do Medicare Part A and keep my government health insurance, and…