The big surprise with the US Postal Service Medical insurance for retirees.
As a Medicare Broker servicing Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Long Island here in New York, I did a research on Medicare coverage for Post Office retirees. I have conducted many interviews and here what you need to know!
In our industry, we must take a lot into considerations before recommending and enrolling our prospects into Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Prescription Drug Plans. Everything should come into consideration from the compliance standpoint, and our prospects need to help them find the right Medicare coverage. When we meet with potential consumers, we always get the list of their medications and the list of their Doctors to make sure everything will be covered. We tell our prospects exactly what copays for the procedure will be. What will be a copay for the specific medications they take. We answer all their questions, in terms of traveling benefits, out of country coverage, and many more. That is why we think one on one appointment is very necessary when it comes to Medicare planning. That is why when it comes to Medicare Planning, the same approach to all participants will not work. Each situation is unique.
A very delicate matter exists when retirees have the option to keep their employer group coverage. In some cases, the best thing to advise prospects to keep their employer coverage, since a lot of times, the employer will sponsor a big part or even the entire premium of their plans, especially employers tied to a union or a government. Many companies offer group Medicare Advantage and Group Medicare Supplement Plans. It is essential to contact your benefits administration office of your current or previous employer and review the benefits that they offer after retirement.
Back on the beginning of my career in Medicare products, I would never imagine that a US Postal Service retiree (Postal Service’s Federal Employee Health Benefits FEHB) would ever leave their employer plan, knowing that USPS is linked to the federal government and most of its employees are part of a labor union.
It all changed back in 2017 when I met a couple of prospects that were retired from the USPS that was shopping for Medicare Advantage plans. The situation sparked my curiosity. I asked questions as to why they had left their group coverage from the FEHB. The response was very surprising, as they explained that it would’ve cost them over $530 a month at the time. Besides big surprise, I realized that if they were to pay their Medicare part B premium which back in 2017 cost for most recipients $134, along with the most comprehensive and expensive Medicare Supplement at the time (Plan F), which back in 2017 costed $270 a month along with the Prescription Drug Plan that costed anywhere between $11 to $83 monthly, they would not only get more comprehensive coverage, they would also save money on monthly premiums and copays.
Now, when it comes to Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans (MAPD) or Part C, which most of the time has integrated prescription drugs coverage, premiums tend to be much lower, sometimes as low as $0 monthly premium, which could offer very comprehensive coverage and also save even more money! Part C plans are offered through private insurance companies. These plans are designed for Medicare beneficiaries only. To enroll in the MAPD plan, you must be entitled to Medicare Part A and enrolled in Medicare Part B. All MAPD plans have a contract with a Federal Government (Center of Medicare Service CMS). CMS pays a premium for you directly to a private insurance company. That is why many plans have a $0/month premium.
Thank to those prospects I was able to meet some of their former colleagues that were already retired or about to retire, and I was able to help them find a more cost-effective Medicare coverage compared to what they would get with their Postal Service’s Federal Employee Health Benefits FEHB coverage, and that referral base kept growing. I helped and still helping many USPS retirees and letting them know that they have more options when it comes to their health coverage after they retire. The big lesson for me was that even though a retiree could still keep their union/employer group health coverage, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it could be the best option for them.
You can suspend your FEHB coverage to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, eliminating your FEHB premium. (OPM does not contribute to your Medicare Advantage plan premium.) If you later want to re-enroll in the FEHB Program, generally, you may do so only at the next Open Season unless you involuntarily lose coverage or move out of the Medicare Advantage plan’s service area.
There are a lot of things to take into consideration, and different employers offer different coverage for their retirees. It all comes down to a proper need analysis with prospects. When you have Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB), you have a couple of options:
- Keep FEHB and get Medicare Part A
- Keep FEHB and get both Medicare Part A and Part B
- Suspend FEHB coverage and Enroll in Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan (MAPD) or Medigap plan with stand-alone Prescription drug Plan (PDP)
If you need help with comparing your current employee health benefits coverage with how much Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan (MAPD) / Medicare Supplement and Stand-Alone Prescription Drug Plan would cost you, don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at First Manhattan Financial and we will be happy to see which option will benefit you the most.
We have Licensed agents in NY and NJ that speak Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese, Farsi, and Dari to help you with Medicare Planning.
We offer one on one appointments in our Brooklyn and Long Island office. We can also consult you over the phone or through the web meeting.
