Community Chat

[Winkk]

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@reiki604 wrote:

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@Winkk wrote:

I would get the advice of a Medicare advisor.  They don't charge anything.  They look at all the options open to you and you decide which is best.  That amount seems very high.  Since your husband worked for the government there may be other plans.

My advisor told me about my current insurance with BC/BS, no monthly premiums and so far I'm very happy with it.

Just FYI.  I have an Advantage Plan along with my Medicare.

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You either have a Medicare Advantage plan or  Medicare. You can't have both. If you sign up for an advantage program you cannot go to straight Medicare. If you are on straight Medicare you can switch to an Advantage plan or purchace supplemental plans.Supplemental plans can be switched at any time. Advantage plans can only be changed from one to another during Medicare enrollment period from Oct-Dec. Part D (drug plans) can only be switched during this time also.

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You're right @reiki604 - I worded my response poorly.

[SeaMaiden]

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@I am still oxox wrote:

My hubby will be retiring in April or May of 2020 from a job in the Federal Gov't.

He just got a estimate of benefits which includes a $450 dollar monthly charge for health insurance. With the 140 each dedication for Medicare this will bring our monthly payments to over 700 per month.

Is this the going rate, or do I need to start shopping around?

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@I am still oxox   That is about what DH and I pay between Medicare and supplemental insurance through premeria Blue Cross for both of us.

[GraceCO]

I agree--it's very confusing. When my husband and I became eligible for Medicare, we didn't even look at all our options, because our PCP required us to sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan (his HMO, essentially) through AARP/United Healthcare to retain him as our primary doctor. So, we didn't want to switch and signed up. We had Medicare A&B at $131/month each and the Medicare Advantage plan was zero.

The coverage has been good, so far. There are copays--$5 for an office visit, $50 for a specialist, $295/day for first 10 days of hospital stay, etc. Drug coverage is so-so. Deductible is $225 each year and if a med is in a higher tier, once you get to that "donut hole" (lasting 6 mos for us) it's very expensive. Silver Sneakers benefit is nice. 

The downside? The PCP has to approve ALL specialist referrals and the patient doesn't have a choice of doctor or hospital. In our case, so far, the specialists in the group are all top docs, but when I wanted a 2nd opinion with a leading doc at CU, my insurance didn't apply. Medigap insurance would allow that--any doctor and any hospital anywhere, plus coverage nationwide and internationally. You pay more per month, but you have the best coverage with a supplemental plan, I think, especially if you have a serious illness requiring specialized medical care. We're not there, but if and when we are, I'd want the peace of mind that we are covered. So,we are likely going to switch to a Medigap plan in Oct.

[50Mickey]

Are you both on Medicare? If so that sounds really high. I am retired from the State of GA. I have a Medicare advantage plan offered by the state. It costs about $32 for me and same for my husband. He is on my plan. Our Medicare premiums are withheld from our SS checks and I think they run around $170 each. Our Medicare advantage plan is excellent. I have no complaints. So our total health insurance run around $400 per month. Once you are on Medicare your insurance plan with the govt should go way down. 

[ceekay]

@Financial Girl @I am still oxox @Blingqueen023 

This thread prompted me to do some googling.  I found an informative and clearly written Fedweek explanation of the topic of Federal retirement and Medicare (and I am sure there are lots of others).  Obviously no pricing info.  Won't put the link in case it breaks the forum rules.  

Go to==> ask dot fedweek dot com/medicare

My inlaws were retired Feds and also never went to Medicare, just kept their straight Blue Cross.  Lots of options and opinions for sure!

[Carmie]

@GraceCO   Good luck with that.  

Are you aware that you can switch back to Original Medicare, but will probably not be able to get or afford a Supplement Plan to go along with it?

You can switch to a different Advantage Plan during open enrollment with no problems every year, or choose to go to Original Medicare, but supplements are only available to you to purchase within 6 months of your Medicare Part B effective date. And if you want RX coverage with that, you will pay a high penalty to get it now.

Some insurance companies might sell you a supplement, but you will have to pay an extremely high rate to get it....if you can even find one who will.

You should have done your homework. It's a good thing you like your insurance, because you will have to live with it or another Advantage Plan of your choosing.

[Eileen in Virginia]

@I am still oxox  It’s very important that you and your husband know that ONLY ACTIVE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES are eligible to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. If a retiree drops his FEHB coverage, that decision’s final and he won’t be able to re-enroll at a later date. If the premiums for his current FEHB plan are too expensive, he can enroll in a less expensive plan during FEHB open season. 

Are you also also covered under his FEHB plan? If so, you’ll continue to be covered when he retires unless he decides to drop you from the plan, so the premiums are for the 2 of you. Under FEHB, retirees pay the same premiums as active employees. There’s no “penalty” as you get older and need to use your benefits more. Also, if the retiree predeceases them, spouses continue to be covered and their coverage is automatically changed to self-only coverage (with a corresponding premium reduction) as long as they’re receiving a survivor annuity large enough to cover their FEHB premiums. If there’s an eligible dependent child, they could continue to be covered, as well.

DH and I are both Federal retirees. We both have Medicare A and B as our primary insurance, with Blue Cross/Blue Shield FEP as our secondary insurance. We’ve had BC/BS Standard for decades, but switched to Basic this year because of a fairly recent “incentive” that BC/BS offers. If you’re enrolled in Medicare A AND B and you have BC/BS  Basic FEHB coverage, you can each receive an annual $600 “rebate” from BC/BS. In addition, the Basic premiums are much lower than the Standard coverage premiums (DH thinks it’s about $2000 per year). If I remember correctly, the main difference in coverage is in the number of therapy sessions and a few other similar benefits allowed. You can check this on the BC/BS FEP website if you’re interested. As I said, we’ve pretty much had BC/BS forever, so we never checked to see if the otherFEP plans also offered the rebate.  

If you or your husband have any questions about your health or life insurance benefits after retirement, check OPM’s website at www.opm.gov. There’s a ton of excellent, current information under the Retirement and Insurance tabs. Most importantly, this info is specific to Federal retirees and their surviving spouses. Hope this helps!

[Winkk]

You really need to get a Medicare broker.  Every state has different options.  Every one is trying to be helpful but it is a very confusing issue. 

[GraceCO]

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@Carmie wrote:

@GraceCO   Good luck with that.  

Are you aware that you can switch back to Original Medicare, but will probably not be able to get or afford a Supplement Plan to go along with it?

You can switch to a different Advantage Plan during open enrollment with no problems every year, or choose to go to Original Medicare, but supplements are only available to you to purchase within 6 months of your Medicare Part B effective date. And if you want RX coverage with that, you will pay a high penalty to get it now.

Some insurance companies might sell you a supplement, but you will have to pay an extremely high rate to get it....if you can even find one who will.

You should have done your homework. It's a good think you like your insurance, because you will have to live with it or another Advantage Plan of your choosing.

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@Carmie 

I'm well aware of the sign-up timeframe issue. I've already checked the prices on a MediGap policy and they are only slightly higher now than they would've been had we signed up within the first six months. Depends on your overall health and the state you live in. We can easily afford that premium.

One loophole for anyone who finds the pricing too high for a Medigap policy after you miss that six-month sign up period...if you move to another state, it resets as if you were signing up in the first six months. There are options!

[shoesnbags]

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@Carmie wrote:

@GraceCO   Good luck with that.  

Are you aware that you can switch back to Original Medicare, but will probably not be able to get or afford a Supplement Plan to go along with it?

You can switch to a different Advantage Plan during open enrollment with no problems every year, or choose to go to Original Medicare, but supplements are only available to you to purchase within 6 months of your Medicare Part B effective date. And if you want RX coverage with that, you will pay a high penalty to get it now.

Some insurance companies might sell you a supplement, but you will have to pay an extremely high rate to get it....if you can even find one who will.

You should have done your homework. It's a good thing you like your insurance, because you will have to live with it or another Advantage Plan of your choosing.

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@Carmie 

Thank you for commenting.  This is what we were told by the senior insurance specialist we consulted, and it was the reason we chose Medicare with a supplement rather than an Advantage plan.  Didn't want to get locked into an option that was basically a permanent deal.  We wanted to preserve our options at this point.