Federal Employees Health Benefits (or FEHB) is a healthcare program that allows federal employees, retirees, and survivors to choose from a wide selection of healthcare plans. If you are a federal employee who is still working and you age into Medicare, you may have the opportunity to enroll in both. But should you? Here are three options for you to weigh.
- Keep FEHB and enroll in Original Medicare. In this scenario, Medicare will be your primary insurance and FEHB will function similarly to a Medigap plan, picking up the slack on many out-of-pocket expenses. This will likely be a more expensive option that requires you to pay two separate premiums. If you choose this route, it might benefit you to switch to a cheaper FEHB plan.
- Disenroll from FEHB and enroll in Medicare. If you select this option, you might need to enroll in supplemental coverage like a Medicare Advantage plan in order to have prescription drug coverage and lower premiums. If you are in relatively good health, this might be the cheapest option for you.
- Turn down Medicare Part B and keep FEHB. Choosing this option will keep you from paying Medicare Part B premiums while you’re covered by FEHB. However, if you choose to enroll in Part B later, you’ll have to pay a penalty in the form of higher premiums for not enrolling when you first became eligible.
If you have questions about FEHB, you can email them to [email protected]. If you have questions about Medicare, you can contact your local Medicare office or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.
