Q. I have searched the Internet extensively and cannot find any statistics on what percentage of federal employees/retirees actually sign up for Medicare Part B coverage. Can you shed any light on this for me? A. No, I can’t. If any of you who read this have that information, let me know and I’ll share it.
Browsing: Medicare Part B
Q: I am on disability retirement through the U.S. Postal Service. I am 48 years old and am under the Federal Employees Retirement System. I have been retired since 2009. I am also receiving Social Security disability. I just received information from Social Security stating that I am required to receive Medicare Part B. It says I may opt out, but if I decide to join later, I may end up paying penalties. Can I keep my health insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan? If I do keep it and decide to keep Medicare Part B, is Medicare…
Q: I am a retiree under CSRS who cannot get Social Security benefits. My questions are: Are the COLAs for both the federal retirees and the Social Security beneficiaries determined under the same law? If so, why are they not both subject to the “hold harmless provision” in that law? For the past two years there have been no cost-of-living allowances, yet my Medicare Part B premiums have risen both years while those on Social Security benefits haven’t. A: There are two separate laws at work here. While both laws protect retirees from having their benefits reduced when the numbers go…
Q: I am a recent retiree, younger than 65, and have just received my final annuity computations. I expected Medicare would continue to be deducted and have now read two puzzling things: That Medicare is not taken from annuity payments, and that I must contact the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to have payments withheld. By law, I understand Medicare becomes my primary payer, with my federal health plan second, when I turn 65. My question is: As a retiree under the Civil Service Retirement System, do I “owe” 1.75 percent of my monthly annuity to Medicare and must…
Q: I am retiring at the end of December and have already reached age 65. I have signed up for Social Security benefits starting in January. I also signed up for Medicare Part A coverage but not Part B coverage, as suggested at a retirement seminar. I am carrying over my Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage. I checked with my plan and they said I would not need Medicare Part B. If I decide to switch plans in the future and my new insurer suggests that I need Part B coverage, will I be penalized with the 10 percent per…
Q: I am a Civil Service Retirement System annuitant who will turn 65 soon. I have a Federal Employees Health Benefits plan. Must I sign up for Medicare Part B and/or Part D? What are the consequences if I don’t? Will my FEHB plan continue to cover my health care costs if I don’t sign up for Medicare? I have signed up for Part A because I paid for it over my working career. A: No, you don’t have to sign up for Medicare Part B or Part D. Whether you should is a decision you’ll have to make. Your…
Q: I am a retired federal employee, almost 65 years old, and I have to decide whether to sign up for Medicare Part B. Whether I sign up or not, I will continue with the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (currently Government Employees Health Association, which has a maximum annual $5,000 out-of-pocket expense). The Part B decision seems to be one of costs versus benefits. I would pay about $1,400 per year for Part B and would save/eliminate most of my out-of-pocket expenses. I rarely spend more than about $1,000 a year in out-of-pocket expenses. It’s almost impossible to…
Q: I am a retired postal annuitant on Medicare. I heard that letters were sent out in the spring inviting insurers to offer a health care supplement for people such as me, so that I don’t have to pay for a full-blown plan when I also have Medicare Parts A and B. I cannot find any insurers offering such a plan for 2011. Are there any plans being offered? Who offers them? Are there any fee-for-service insurers? A: I don’t know if OPM had any takers. We won’t know that until it makes its Federal Employees Health Benefits open season…
Q: My wife and I are federal retirees and annuitants. We continue to enroll in the CareFirst Blue Cross/Blue Shield standard option. We do not have Medicare Part B. The Blue Cross 2010 Plan Booklet and several explanation of benefits from Blue Cross explain that by law, physicians who do not accept Medicare can only charge us up to 115 percent of what Medicare allows. The law applies to federal retirees and annuitants without Medicare Part B. Please confirm that what I summarized above is correct. A: What you read on Page 23 of your plan brochure is correct.
Q: My father retired from the Internal Revenue Service 20 years ago. He has Medicare Part A but did not take Medicare Part B and has continued his Federal Employees Health Benefits insurance plan. Until now, all bills had been covered by his Aetna FEHB insurance. Now he needs surgery, and he was informed that this insurance is secondary and Medicare Part B, which he does not have, is primary. Is that accurate? Why is he paying $16,000 a year for in private insurance if it is only secondary? Also, I got the impression that if you don’t take Medicare…