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Greetings! I have two options available to me when I retire (before Medicare). I can take my federal FEHB with me or I can switch to another plan offered to me from another retirement. The 2nd choice has a high deductible. I've been TOLD that the FEHB premiums, co-pays and deductibles remain the same and am wondering if anyone who has done this can confirm their experience.
It also sounds like a good idea for me to continue to pay for the FEHB even when I reach Medicare age because it will cover things Medicare does not. I still have to figure out if the 'parts' of Medicare are covered by FEHB, or if I should be paying for and signing up for everything, just in case, and to have the most coverage. I plan on retiring at the end of the year.
Greetings! I have two options available to me when I retire (before Medicare). I can take my federal FEHB with me or I can switch to another plan offered to me from another retirement. The 2nd choice has a high deductible. I've been TOLD that the FEHB premiums, co-pays and deductibles remain the same and am wondering if anyone who has done this can confirm their experience.
It also sounds like a good idea for me to continue to pay for the FEHB even when I reach Medicare age because it will cover things Medicare does not. I still have to figure out if the 'parts' of Medicare are covered by FEHB, or if I should be paying for and signing up for everything, just in case, and to have the most coverage. I plan on retiring at the end of the year.
the FEHB for annuitants is is the exact same plan/costs as for employees.
i opted out of part b but everyone's needs are different. plus my part b premium would be ~ $270/month.
My wife and I are both CSRS federal retirees, we both had BCBS and continued the coverage into retirement, and we both have Medicare Part A (that we contributed to during our working years) and Part B.
For the last year, I don't think we've had any out-of-pocket medical expenses. Medicare is primary, BC/BS is secondary, and so far everything has been covered.
And if you go with Medicare Part B, the fact that Medicare will typically pick up most of the expense saves BC/BS some serious money, and they pass some of that on to you. The BCBS Medicare Reimbursement program is open to federal retirees with BC/BC Basic (not Standard) coverage (and I believe that other health insurance plans offered through OPM are also doing this, but I have no personal knowledge of them). You can get reimbursed for up to $600 per year, to offset some of the cost of Medicare Part B. It's a good deal.
Thank you Newbie, oldfed, and GreenGene ALL for your responses!!!
Sounds like a no brainer for me to keep FEHB, especially since I can't change my mind if I don't take it with me into retirement. GreenGene - I'll check out that link. There seems to be so many moving parts to getting this insurance thing right when you retire, that I'd rather have too much than too little. Plus, at least from my organization, and maybe I'm not doing enough 'pushing,' no one really seems to know the finer details. That said, I am also attending a two-day seminar in March (I've been to this before but didn't ask about health insurance since I wasn't ready to go yet.) The information you have all provided will help me formulate some questions.
My wife and I are both CSRS federal retirees, we both had BCBS and continued the coverage into retirement, and we both have Medicare Part A (that we contributed to during our working years) and Part B.
For the last year, I don't think we've had any out-of-pocket medical expenses. Medicare is primary, BC/BS is secondary, and so far everything has been covered.
And if you go with Medicare Part B, the fact that Medicare will typically pick up most of the expense saves BC/BS some serious money, and they pass some of that on to you. The BCBS Medicare Reimbursement program is open to federal retirees with BC/BC Basic (not Standard) coverage (and I believe that other health insurance plans offered through OPM are also doing this, but I have no personal knowledge of them). You can get reimbursed for up to $600 per year, to offset some of the cost of Medicare Part B. It's a good deal.
1. Never, EVER, get rid of your FEHB insurance unless you're switching to a super-duper plan, and you've given a LOT of thought to it.
2. If you are eligible for, and switch to, a Medicare Advantage plan, TRICARE, or Medicaid, don't get rid of your FEHB insurance. Instead, you can *suspend* FEHB. That way, if you're not happy with the advantage plan, you can drop it and re-activate the FEHB plan.
3. Finally, as my wife found out, if your health changes - and therefore your health insurance needs change - if you are in FEHB you can change plans. My wife now has asthma, and the best drug for her to take was not covered by BC/BS Basic. She switched to Standard which does cover the medication.
We never know what medical challenges we'll face as we age, but we DO know that we'll face them. I feel better knowing I've got some darn good coverage.
[quote=Riley.;54394572]Greetings! I have two options available to me when I retire (before Medicare). I can take my federal FEHB with me or I can switch to another plan offered to me from another retirement. The 2nd choice has a high deductible. I've been TOLD that the FEHB premiums, co-pays and deductibles remain the same and am wondering if anyone who has done this can confirm their experience.
It also sounds like a good idea for me to continue to pay for the FEHB even when I reach Medicare age because it will cover things Medicare does not. I still have to figure out if the 'parts' of Medicare are covered by FEHB, or if I should be paying for and signing up for everything, just in case, and to have the most coverage. I plan on retiring at the end of the year.[/QUOTE
I retired at age 56 and took my FEHB with me into retirement (BC/BS). At that time my husband was also on my FEHB insurance, although he also had Medicare (he was older). When he got cancer and had to have a lot of surgery and other expensive treatments, the combination of the two insurances paid for everything. For myself, I had a major heart attack this past June with rehab afterwards and have had another stent inserted since then (November). I've been on Medicare for 3 years and the combination of FEHB and Medicare means that I've paid zero out of pocket for well over $100K in hospital and surgical costs. My prescription costs are also pretty low as well, even though at least one of my heart meds is expensive.
I can't tell you how happy I am that I did NOT switch to the other retirement health plan!!! Sticking with what I got!!
During our next 'snowmageddon' up here, I'll go through this information and try to get myself up to speed. Geez, sometimes I think it should NOT be so complicated. Thank you ALL!
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