Here's is a link to the Medicare and You booklet, page 15 refers to this,
https://www.medicare.gov/medicare-and-you. Receiving SS benefits, you will be automatically enrolled, so if you want to decline, you will have to take action to notify SS that you want to unenroll. From posts at this web site, people have said they had to meet with a representative for counseling, which am pretty sure means they want to be sure you are not putting yourself in position where you do not have any health insurance; and also that, if you change your mind between the ages of 62 and 65, that there would be the penalty for late enrollment applied to your premium. But at age 65, you then get a new opportunity to enroll without penalty.
I suggest you spend the $10 for a Checkbook subscription
https://www.checkbook.org/newhig2/hig.cfm; once you provide them info on your age (say you're 65 because at 62 I don't think you will get the Medicare input from it), zip code, enrollment type, income level, and expected level of health expenses (low, average, or high) they will provide estimates of out of pocket costs (premiums plus copays) fehb plan by plan both with and without Medicare for your evaluation. Then take a serious look at the fehb plans which when paired with Part B result in less costs to you than the fehb plan alone. If they don't work for you, you can also look at the fehb plans one by one vs each other from the same perspective, ie, which would cost less and are highly rated, would they fit your needs and save you money?
The other thing to do would be to look into Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part C. If you are eligible for Medicare, you can enroll in Part B and then suspend (but do not cancel) your fehb plan in order to select a Part C plan. Part C is a very economical way to go but there are some drawbacks such as weaker Rx coverage. Checkbook has a good discussion of Medicare Advantage but as far as I know they do not rate individual plans, so you would have to evaluate individual plans yourself or ask other retirees in your area perhaps. I know a few people who have it and say they really like it.
If you have suspended your fehb plan to take Medicare Advantage and are not happy, you can come back to fehb January following the next open season.
Edited by user Tuesday, July 30, 2019 8:27:13 PM(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified