Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - Health Insurance for Retired Federal Employees
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Old 11-12-2014, 10:08 AM
784caroline 784caroline is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by laceylady View Post
I am very interested in attending any meetings on this subject. We have Fed BCBS. My husband has been very ill this year. He will be 65 y/o in Nov. 2015. Fed BCBS REC'd close to $1 million in bills for him this year. We have not had any co pays since we hit the $6,000 max. in July. Fed BCBS is outstanding coverage. We will definitely keep it but are confused about whether to get Medicare Part B. I would like a clear explanation about how they work together. Reading the BCBS literature just confuses me more. My husband takes MANY medications also.
With your situation there is no doubt I would take Medicare Part B and stay with BCBS Standard plan (105). The premiums for Medicare Part B will be deducted directly from his Federal pension or Social Security if he is already receiving that. He is eligible for Medicare November 1, 2015 and should sign up for PARTS A and B ... 2-3 months (August 2015) before he turns 65. Medicare Part B will be primary in covering all the medical or doctor bills (Hospital stays are Part A). Once you receive your medicare card, notify your health providers of the new (additional) coverage and start date (November 1, 2015), and they will bill medicare as the Primary provider. Medicare will automatically coordinate with BCBS and any amount not covered by Medicare will be sent to BCBS for consideration. BCBS will cover all your Copays/Deductibles.

The system and coordination actually works fairly well.