At age 65 you must enroll in Medicare Part B if you want to keep TRICARE For Life!
If you are a retiree living ANYWHERE overseas, Medicare cannot be used, because Medicare does not work overseas. HOWEVER, in order to keep TRICARE (TRICARE For Life at age 65), you MUST still enroll in Medicare Part B (Read more about Medicare and TFL). Since Medicare coverage and use does not apply to retirees in Korea we will not discuss details about Medicare plans and coverage. To learn more 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.
IMPORTANT: A retirees INDEF ID card when turning 65 does not rely on whether you are enrolled in Medicare! A retiree will receive an INDEF DEERS ID card at 65 whether you are enrolled or not. AND you must get a new ID card at 65 because your old one expires on the last day of the month prior to your birth month. Retiree dependent spouses however, must be enrolled in Medicare Part B before getting INDEF on the ID card. If not enrolled, the dependent spouse's ID is issued for 4 years (Read more on our DEERS ID Card page).
It is common during discussions about TFL and Medicare to refer to the Medicare requirement as needing Medicare Part B, which is true. But, Part A is also required in order to be TRICARE For Life eligible. You do not however, "enroll" in Part A, because it comes free when you enroll in Part B. So, enrolling in Medicare Part B does in fact give you both Part A and Part B.
Why is this important to know? Because your DEERS record MUST correctly reflect both Parts A and B to make you TRICARE eligible. The Medicare process automatically updates your DEERS record once you enroll in Medicare Part B with both Parts A and B. It however, is not 100% foolproof. DEERS ID card operators will confirm there are times when Part A will be incorrectly annotated requiring DMDC to do some data changes. It does not happen often, but it does happen. Something to keep in mind during any troubleshooting with a TRICARE problem you may run into.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Yes, enrollment into Medicare can be deferred under certain conditions and reinstated after age 65 without penalties.
However, it is important to know that you lose TRICARE after age 65 if not enrolled in Medicare Part B, period. There is no way around that. Can you defer Medicare? Yes. Can you enroll at a later time without penalty? Yes. Will TRICARE For Life start once you enroll in Medicare even it it's later? Yes. But during the time of the deferment, you lose TRICARE.
If you are still working as a federal employee after age 65, you can defer Medicare Part B while you are working. TRICARE will stop at age 65 until you enroll in Medicare Part B. Enrolling in Medicare Part B after a deferment under this situation will not incur any cost penalties. Once enrolled, TRICARE For Life will start.
If you are federal service retired, having FEHB does not qualify you to defer Medicare Part B enrollment.
YES, but, FEHB is considered Other Health Insurance (OHI) to TRICARE. If you have both FEHB and TRICARE, FEHB will be the primary payer, and TRICARE will pay after FEHB, as TRICARE is the secondary payer. If you were still working for the federal government you could defer Medicare without penalty, unless you are a Civil Service Retiree. As a retiree the option to defer is not available, so enrolling in Medicare is how you keep TFL.