Page 71 - The Informed Fed--Hearn (edited 10.29.20)

HMO within your FEHB, you won’t have to worry about those out-of-
network costs being covered. Medicare would pick that up. If you choose
Medicare Part B, you will pay at least $96.40 more per month in
premiums (in addition to your then current FEHB premiums). Health
care expenses for a couple enrolled in Blue Cross Blue Shield would be
more than $7,000 per year before ever going to the doctor. If you’re
healthy, you could save about $2,300 per year by simply keeping your
FEHB only.
The downside of Medicare is that if you choose Medicare Part B,
Medicare becomes the primary payer (they pay the first dollar expenses).
Having Medicare become the primary payer means that you have to go
to a physician who accepts Medicare. Many physicians are no longer
accepting Medicare because it is a time-consuming process to file the
paperwork, which results in lower payouts than the typical insurer would
pay, and it often takes longer for Medicare to pay them. You may also
have to give up the physician you’ve gone to for years if you choose the
Medicare Part B option. Unfortunately, more and more doctors are not
taking Medicare. If you are already retired when you turn 65, the rules
are the same for enrolling in Medicare Part B as for Part A. However,
you may still be working at age 65 so that, hopefully, you won’t have to
make the Medicare Part B decision until up to 8 months after you retire.
If you do not enroll during this timeframe, you may still enroll during
any open season which runs from January 1 to March 31 each year.
However, you will incur a 10% penalty for each year past the enrollment
deadline. You’ll want to carefully evaluate your Medicare Part B options
at age 65, so hopefully, you won’t have to reconsider it in the future. The
10%/year penalty increases your premium permanently. Since most
federal employees are satisfied with their FEHB coverage, they simply
keep that coverage at age 65.

Medicare Part C

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