Q. I am retired and will be turning 65 years old in July. My federal insurance is with Blue Cross Blue Shield, and it covers my Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B, as well as prescriptions. I received a letter in the mail saying I have been automatically enrolled in Medicare Part B and that it will cost me $104 per month. Since I am already paying for BCBS, won’t that cover my Medicare Part B and prescription drugs? I do realize Medicare will be my primary and BCBS will become my secondary. So wouldn’t BCBS act as my Medicare Part B?
I also still have dependents that need BCBS to act as their primary insurance. Do you have any advice?
A. You should opt out of Medicare Part B unless you have reason to believe that you’ll get more out of it than you’ll put into it in premiums. Unless you have special circumstances — like diabetes, for example — I think this is highly unlikely. You also should not agree to pay for insurance that you cannot afford.
