Thanks for this video. It’s actually been really hard to find people covering this on CZcams and when they do they don’t cover whether it might be preferable to go straight Medicare and not use the FEHB option. If you’re in the postal service you will have to sign up for Medicare A&B so the question after that is which route to take. I think people should be sure and read the policy of the FEHB plan they’re likely to take in detail and make sure they’re okay with the benefits and cost vs Medicare and a supplement. ( You have to drop FEHB completely if you want a supplement) Blue Cross Standard for example doesn’t coordinate with Medicare on part B drugs and only partially on skilled nursing. It does offer other coverage though such as hearing aid coverage. Its drug formulary is also a lot better than any part D plan in our area for 2024. It’s kind of a cross between a supplement and Medicare Advantage. Of course there are a lot of plans to choose from so you really want to do your research.
We had FEHB and Medicare when we retired.Since Medicare premiums are linked to your income in retirement, it is not beneficial to have both BCBS. If your premium is more than the catastrophic limit of FEHB, it is not financially better to subscribe to both FEHB and Medicare. I cancelled our medicare.
Aa a postal retiree, I'm using the SEP to enroll in Medicare's part B, PENALTY FREE. Then will SUSPEND my fehb & join a 0 premium medicare advantage plan this fall during open season. There's NO WAY any plans in the new PSHBP will offer any 0 premium plans. So in essence, medicare becomes primary payers & your pshb is second & pays very little after medicare pays its share. So they pocket most of your premium & you end up paying twice the premiums for the same coverage, and unless you have a catastrophic year they benefit & you loose. I don't trust the pshb plans & since MANY carriers are NOT participating, you are left with little to choose from. That certainly relates to higher premiums, less coverage and no real benefits.
Thank you for posting. I, too, am a postal retiree. I am 67. When I was eligible for Medicare, I only took Medicare Part A because it was free and I stayed with FEHB Independent Health. I understood that by not signing up for Part B, I would be subject to a penalty, but did not care because it appeared to me that my FEHB offered better plans than Medicare. Granted for $174/month more, but if I ever had to use something like an ambulance, I would pay more than my current health plan and so any savings would be eaten up. Now with this SEP thing and not knowing what the PSHB plans look like (I was told that we will know in August what the plans will be), I need to revisit my decision about signing up for Medicare. Not happy about this because I am sure at the end of the day, I will get less coverage than I have now. Maybe save a little money, but that money will be eaten up if I ever have to use the Medicare health coverage. I will be sitting down tomorrow with a Medicare advisor to help me figure out what to do. My current plan with FEHB costs $286.87 a month and the Federal government picks up the remaining $588.10/month cost of the premium. Medicare currently costs $174.70/month. Who knows what it will cost in 2024. I already spoke with a representative from my current insurance plan and that person said that Independent Health is not participating in PSHB in 2025. The great health insurance benefit we earned from working for the Postal Service is going to be taken away from us and we will be left with junk. Hopefully tomorrow, I can figure out what is the best Medicare plan, but because that is so complicated, no doubt, I will choose the wrong plan. Plus who knows what the plans for 2025 are going to look like and so this will make my decision harder. I am definitely going to go with just suspending health insurance with the postal service in case down the road Medicare proves to be horrible insurance and I want to reinstate my health insurance with FEHB/PSHB.
@lynnm.9243 Smart move. I already have an agent and we have settled on 2 different plans that are currently available for me. Now to see if the are again offered this fall. Already signed up & have my new medicare card effective 1/2/25. Also, I have my suspension form from OPM. Now to choose a medicare advantage plan, suspend my fehb, send info to OPM and hope they don't screw it up !! Best if luck to you. I'm sure working with an agent you will be able to find a suitable medicare advantage plan that fits your needs. Get that suspension form from OPM , & you will be ready to go. Too bad the postal system pulled the rug out from under us & took away promised benefits they gave us when we started our career. But, just like the government to be Indian givers and not care how it impacts us now. They could care less, so I want NOTHING to do with any plans they offer as they will certainly be higher premiums plus paying medicare part B = way more than I can afford. Good luck
@@JanetVaughn-cm3et reading what you are doing has helped me figure this out. Thanks again for posting. Lol, yes, OPM can mess this up and good luck trying to get in touch with anyone there. It is sad what the postal service is doing to its retirees. Promises made and promises broken, but what else is new. That is what concerns me, switching to Medicare might be the same switcheroo. Oh, well, I have been retired for over 15 years, so at least I was able to have nice health insurance for a while. I feel for those who are approaching retirement and what they thought they were getting is not what they were promised and they do not even get to use it for a little while.
I don't see the value in over insurance. Save the money that would be paid for Part B, keep in invested. We dont have 340+ in copays per month. In a few years, the money save and ket in investments will more than exceed even the highest allowable costs per year for my FEHB plan.
Regarding Medicare and FEHB, I have both Medicare A and B, and Federal Blue Cross Blue Shield. During last year’s FEHB Open Season, many federal retirees were automatically enrolled in a Medicare Part D Prescription plan, overriding their plan’s prescription drug benefit. I was one of those retirees. We did have the option to opt out, but since it was at no extra cost to me, I opted to be in it. However, I should add that your Part D cost is income driven. Meaning, it’s no cost if your modified adjusted income is $103,000 or less for singles, $206,000 or less for marrieds. If I was to go over the $103,000 income limit, I could opt out and my FEHB Prescription Plan would take over. My question is: Since prior to being enrolled in Part D, my BC/BS monthly premium included prescription drugs. However, now being in Medicare Part D, if it overrides my prior BC/BS prescription plan, why is my monthly BC/BS plan the same amount? It doesn’t reflect a reduction to my plan that is now not covering prescription drugs. So why am I paying a monthly BC/BS premium as if it still included a prescription drug plan?
I really wish there was some way Boomer Benefits could be involved with FEHB recipients, their help navigating through the morass of health insurance, claims and benefits would be invaluable.
Thanks for this video. It’s actually been really hard to find people covering this on CZcams and when they do they don’t cover whether it might be preferable to go straight Medicare and not use the FEHB option. If you’re in the postal service you will have to sign up for Medicare A&B so the question after that is which route to take. I think people should be sure and read the policy of the FEHB plan they’re likely to take in detail and make sure they’re okay with the benefits and cost vs Medicare and a supplement. ( You have to drop FEHB completely if you want a supplement)
Blue Cross Standard for example doesn’t coordinate with Medicare on part B drugs and only partially on skilled nursing. It does offer other coverage though such as hearing aid coverage. Its drug formulary is also a lot better than any part D plan in our area for 2024. It’s kind of a cross between a supplement and Medicare Advantage. Of course there are a lot of plans to choose from so you really want to do your research.
Thanks for watching and for the additional informationa!
We had FEHB and Medicare when we retired.Since Medicare premiums are linked to your income in retirement, it is not beneficial to have both BCBS. If your premium is more than the catastrophic limit of FEHB, it is not financially better to subscribe to both FEHB and Medicare. I cancelled our medicare.
Good info - thanks for the feedback!
I did the same thing. I got a Medicaid post card and had to the SS Office and made certain that my MEDICARE/MEDICAID WAS CANCELLED
Aa a postal retiree, I'm using the SEP to enroll in Medicare's part B, PENALTY FREE. Then will SUSPEND my fehb & join a 0 premium medicare advantage plan this fall during open season. There's NO WAY any plans in the new PSHBP will offer any 0 premium plans. So in essence, medicare becomes primary payers & your pshb is second & pays very little after medicare pays its share. So they pocket most of your premium & you end up paying twice the premiums for the same coverage, and unless you have a catastrophic year they benefit & you loose. I don't trust the pshb plans & since MANY carriers are NOT participating, you are left with little to choose from. That certainly relates to higher premiums, less coverage and no real benefits.
Thank you for posting. I, too, am a postal retiree. I am 67. When I was eligible for Medicare, I only took Medicare Part A because it was free and I stayed with FEHB Independent Health. I understood that by not signing up for Part B, I would be subject to a penalty, but did not care because it appeared to me that my FEHB offered better plans than Medicare. Granted for $174/month more, but if I ever had to use something like an ambulance, I would pay more than my current health plan and so any savings would be eaten up. Now with this SEP thing and not knowing what the PSHB plans look like (I was told that we will know in August what the plans will be), I need to revisit my decision about signing up for Medicare. Not happy about this because I am sure at the end of the day, I will get less coverage than I have now. Maybe save a little money, but that money will be eaten up if I ever have to use the Medicare health coverage. I will be sitting down tomorrow with a Medicare advisor to help me figure out what to do. My current plan with FEHB costs $286.87 a month and the Federal government picks up the remaining $588.10/month cost of the premium. Medicare currently costs $174.70/month. Who knows what it will cost in 2024. I already spoke with a representative from my current insurance plan and that person said that Independent Health is not participating in PSHB in 2025. The great health insurance benefit we earned from working for the Postal Service is going to be taken away from us and we will be left with junk. Hopefully tomorrow, I can figure out what is the best Medicare plan, but because that is so complicated, no doubt, I will choose the wrong plan. Plus who knows what the plans for 2025 are going to look like and so this will make my decision harder. I am definitely going to go with just suspending health insurance with the postal service in case down the road Medicare proves to be horrible insurance and I want to reinstate my health insurance with FEHB/PSHB.
@lynnm.9243
Smart move. I already have an agent and we have settled on 2 different plans that are currently available for me. Now to see if the are again offered this fall. Already signed up & have my new medicare card effective 1/2/25. Also, I have my suspension form from OPM. Now to choose a medicare advantage plan, suspend my fehb, send info to OPM and hope they don't screw it up !!
Best if luck to you. I'm sure working with an agent you will be able to find a suitable medicare advantage plan that fits your needs. Get that suspension form from OPM , & you will be ready to go. Too bad the postal system pulled the rug out from under us & took away promised benefits they gave us when we started our career. But, just like the government to be Indian givers and not care how it impacts us now. They could care less, so I want NOTHING to do with any plans they offer as they will certainly be higher premiums plus paying medicare part B = way more than I can afford.
Good luck
@@JanetVaughn-cm3et reading what you are doing has helped me figure this out. Thanks again for posting. Lol, yes, OPM can mess this up and good luck trying to get in touch with anyone there. It is sad what the postal service is doing to its retirees. Promises made and promises broken, but what else is new. That is what concerns me, switching to Medicare might be the same switcheroo. Oh, well, I have been retired for over 15 years, so at least I was able to have nice health insurance for a while. I feel for those who are approaching retirement and what they thought they were getting is not what they were promised and they do not even get to use it for a little while.
Thanks for your comment Janet - this is great info!
Excellent overview! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
I don't see the value in over insurance. Save the money that would be paid for Part B, keep in invested. We dont have 340+ in copays per month. In a few years, the money save and ket in investments will more than exceed even the highest allowable costs per year for my FEHB plan.
I am 63 and have FEHB and Tricare. I don't feel like I need part B but I guess I have to get it to get Tricare for Life.
You might be able to suspend FEHB and just go with Tricare for Life and Medicare.
DO NOT SUSPEND YOUR FEHB .
NEVER.
@@carlcolvin8320 why not?
Don't you mean Don't CANCEL fehb ? You can suspend it & that is what is recommended.
@@JanetVaughn-cm3et yes, suspending FEHB is the best way to go because one never knows when you might want it back.
Regarding Medicare and FEHB, I have both Medicare A and B, and Federal Blue Cross Blue Shield.
During last year’s FEHB Open Season, many federal retirees were automatically enrolled in a Medicare Part D Prescription plan, overriding their plan’s prescription drug benefit. I was one of those retirees.
We did have the option to opt out, but since it was at no extra cost to me, I opted to be in it.
However, I should add that your Part D cost is income driven. Meaning, it’s no cost if your modified adjusted income is $103,000 or less for singles, $206,000 or less for marrieds.
If I was to go over the $103,000 income limit, I could opt out and my FEHB Prescription Plan would take over.
My question is: Since prior to being enrolled in Part D, my BC/BS monthly premium included prescription drugs. However, now being in Medicare Part D, if it overrides my prior BC/BS prescription plan, why is my monthly BC/BS plan the same amount? It doesn’t reflect a reduction to my plan that is now not covering prescription drugs. So why am I paying a monthly BC/BS premium as if it still included a prescription drug plan?
Since the plan is not through Medicare specifically, they would not charge you that additional IRMAA fee that you pay with Part B & Part D.
Great video. Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
I really wish there was some way Boomer Benefits could be involved with FEHB recipients, their help navigating through the morass of health insurance, claims and benefits would be invaluable.
We wish this too!
Thank you 👍🏼💯
very welcome!