Quote:
Originally Posted by jnieman
I have BC/BS Federal High option (the most expensive). My husband was a federal employee for over 30 years. I am 64 years old. Over the last five years I have had a lot of out of pocket expenses which mostly consist of copays for x-rays, MRI's, CAT scans, blood work, co-pays for pain management procedures. Over the last five years each year our out of pocket was over $10,000 for these type of expenses. The co-pays on these types of tests are 15% of the allowed amount. I am counting the days when I get my medicare this fall so that these expenses go away. I couldn't imagine not signing up for Medicare when it becomes available to me. This article has a lot of information. One that sticks out is the difference between the allowed amount and billed amount. I think that is what has cost me so much.
FEHB and Catastrophic Protection |
I'm confused. If you have the individual Blue Cross plan, the catastrophic limit for out of pocket expenses is $5,000 per year, so you would never have any expenses that exceed that amount. If you have the family plan, then the catastrophic limit goes up to $10,000, but you could purchase 2 individual plans and limit the catastrophic to $5,000 each. Before signing up for Medicare Part B, it is worth the time to do the math and compare the cost for the Medicare premiums to the potential benefits you may receive during the year. In my case, the Medicare premiums would be about $3,300. So, the potential benefit of having Medicare is a maximum of $1,700, the difference between the Blue Cross catastrophic limit and the Medicare premium. However, this potential benefit is usually lowered by the out of pocket costs for drugs, which are part of Blue Cross, but not covered by Medicare. And, most people don't spend the catastrophic limit every year. Some people like that they have no copays with Medicare and Blue Cross, but they forget that it is costing them the Medicare premium that is due every month.