Forums > General > General Forum

pat

Jul 9, 2004, 5:41 PM

Post #1 of 1 (154 views)

Shortcut

Medical benefits for retired military living overseas

Can't Post | Private Reply

The following article was extracted from today's edition of the Military Officers Association (MOAA) online newsletter. Since they requested assistance in getting the word to overseas retirees, I doubt if they will mind that I cut and pasted their article here.

Pat

"Medicare Part B Open Season is Boon for Overseas Retirees

We've reported previously that the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 requires a special enrollment period during 2004 for uniformed services beneficiaries who are eligible for Medicare but have not enrolled in Part B.

We're particularly concerned that beneficiaries residing outside the US, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa are well educated about the value of enrollment in Part B. Up to now, overseas retirees saw no advantage to enrolling in Part B, particularly if they faced increased premiums for late enrollment. They knew that Medicare doesn't pay for health care outside the US, so their Part B premiums would have been wasted in the past.

That changed with the enactment of TRICARE For Life (TFL), which made Part B enrollment a requirement for TFL eligibility. Since Medicare still doesn't pay for care received overseas, TRICARE becomes the first payer for overseas Part B enrollees.

Retirees participating in the open season will pay the normal $66.60 per person monthly Part B premium and become eligible for TRICARE.

TRICARE will generally pay 75 percent of the allowed cost (after a $150 single/$300 family deductible), and the beneficiary is responsible for the remaining 25 percent, plus any amount for unauthorized or non-covered services. This is the same cost-share applicable to retired beneficiaries under 65 in the United States (and to care rendered overseas for eligible beneficiaries). In many cases, this may be less than overseas retirees currently pay for health care. Retired beneficiaries residing outside the US for whom TRICARE is first payer also can purchase a TRICARE supplement policy to help cover the cost-shares for TRICARE-approved services.

TFL-eligible retirees residing in a foreign country file their TRICARE claims directly with WPS at the following address: WPS Foreign Claims, P.O. Box 7985, Madison, WI 53707 (Note: For TFL beneficiaries residing in Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa, nothing changes. Their Medicare claims automatically roll over to TRICARE).

The bottom line is that retirees residing overseas must understand the value of TFL in order to weigh the merits of TFL against the options they currently have - be it a private health plan or a national health plan of a foreign country.

On Wednesday, the Social Security Administration posted information on the open season on its website at www.ssa.gov/legislation/tricare.html. Information is being provided to Social Security field offices and to US Embassies and Consulates overseas. DoD will disseminate information through the TRICARE Media Center to military installations and retiree activity offices.

Letters will be sent to each beneficiary in early Fall explaining what this new law does for them. The letter will explain that beneficiaries can opt out of Part B if they do not want Part B coverage or do not want to pay the monthly premiums. But doing so will also mean opting out of TRICARE.

A word of caution: if a beneficiary has private health insurance other than TRICARE, federal law requires that the other plan must pay before TRICARE will. Since the implementation of TFL in 2001, most retirees have cancelled their supplemental health insurance to Medicare.

We urge MOAA members and others to assist in getting this important information to retirees residing overseas."