November 19, 2024

Medicare and TRICARE For Life

At age 65 you must enroll in Medicare Part B if you want to keep TRICARE For Life!

  If you are a retiree living overseas, ANYWHERE overseas, Medicare does not apply, because Medicare does not work overseas. BUT, in order to keep TRICARE, converting to TRICARE For Life at age 65, you must still enroll in Medicare Part B. Read more about Medicare and TFL

Since Medicare does not impact retirees living overseas we will not discuss specifics about Medicare plans and coverage. To find out about Medicare go to https://www.medicare.gov The key thing to know is that if you want to keep TRICARE you must enroll in Medicare Part B at 65. Pretty much all else about Medicare is irrelevant to us overseas.

Medicare's Importance to Retirees Overseas:

• You must be enrolled in Medicare Part A & Part B to keep TRICARE when turning 65
• Medicare Part A automatically comes with Part B when you enroll in Part B, and Part A is free
• You can enroll 6 months prior to your birth month. Website says 3 months, but 6 months works on-line
• There is a 90-day grace period after your birth month to enroll in Medicare without a Medicare fee penalty
• If enrolling after 90-days past your birth month, the cost of Medicare increases. See the Medicare website for details
• The retiree and spouse need to enroll individually
• A non-working spouse with no Social Security points is eligible to enroll due to being a retirees spouse and income
• A foreign national spouse w/out a SSN or green card is eligible to enroll due to being a retirees spouse
• It takes less than 10 minutes to do the online application
• If you are already collecting Social Security you will be automatically enrolled in Medicare Part B upon turning 65. However, when you go in to receive your new INDEF Retiree ID card when turning 65, have the DEERS ID Card office verify Medicare has properly updated your DEERS record with Parts A and B. Bring your Medicare card with you --  the one Medicare snail mailed to you.
• You can delay enrollment in Medicare Part B without any fee penalty as long as you have other creditable insurance, such as from a company you work for or as a civil service employee. The FEHB insurance as a GS employee is creditable insurance. BUT, even if you do delay enrollment, you still lose TRICARE after 65 until you do enroll in Part B.

Is Your Medicare Listed as OHI?

Medicare IS NOT OHI!

Sometimes TRICARE records get flagged showing Medicare as "OHI" Other Health Insurance.  IT IS NOT!  This is an incorrect clerical annotation in the TRICARE record.  If you have TRICARE For Life and are ever told by a network hospital, or provider that your record shows Medicare Part A & B as OHI, they WILL NOT bill TRICARE and will probably bill you until it gets resolved. You must call TRICARE Claims Processing at 080-429-0880 and have them correct this by either changing the question of "OHI?" from YES to NO, deleting that from the record altogether, or coding it with something else that is not OHI.

Inexperienced Claims Processors on the line with you at TRICARE may or may not know about this.  The experienced folks do, what we call the "good ones", so if you get the run-around and the "it should be good" responses, ask for a supervisor.

Parts of Medicare

While the most important thing retirees need to know about Medicare is enrolling in Part B at 65, here is some info about all the parts of Medicare as an FYI.

Medicare Part A

Part A helps cover inpatient hospitals and skilled nursing home care, limited home health services and hospice. Enrolling in Part B automatically comes with Part A. You pay for Part B, but Part A is no fee.

Medicare Part B

Part B helps cover services from doctors and other healthcare providers, outpatient care, home health care, durable medical equipment and many preventive services. As already mentioned, enrollment at age 65 is a must to retain TRICARE.

Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage Plan)

An all-in-one plan with all the benefits of Part A and B, but is covered through a private insurer. Medicare Advantage IS NOT a substitute for enrolling in Part B. You may choose this Advantage plan after enrolling in Part B to help manage Medicare if in the U.S., but you must first enroll in Part B.  Enrolling in a Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C)  is not relevant for retirees living overseas.

Medicare Part D

Part D is a prescription drug benefit that helps make prescription drug and prescription drug insurance premium costs more affordable for Medicare recipients. If you're eligible for TRICARE, you don't need Medicare Part D. You can still have Part D if you want, but totally not necessary. Regardless, enrolling in Part D is not relevant for retirees living overseas.

Additional References

• Plan for Medicare (with Sign Up Button) https://www.ssa.gov/medicare
• Sign up for Medicare (with 2 Sign Up options) https://www.ssa.gov/medicare/sign-up
• Apply Online Button - From Korea I must connect my VPN for this page to open https://www.ssa.gov/medicare/sign-up