An alert reader caught an error in a response to a question in the April 13 Tricare Help column regarding Medicare's Part B "late enrollment" penalty in a specific situation, reaffirming the fact that Medicare is complicated enough to confuse anyone. We're reprising the original question from that column below, followed by an expanded response with the correct information.
Q. I retired from the Army in 2003 and have been working for a corporation with full health care benefits. I use Tricare as backup. I'm 60 years old and will keep working until 63. My wife turned 65 last year and did not work, so she's ineligible for Medicare Part A until I turn 63 and go on Social Security. But in the meantime, she's eligible for Part B. When we asked if we need to enroll her in Part B in order to not be penalized by Tricare down the road, Tricare told me yes. So we did and, because I still work, Medicare immediately slapped me with a 100 percent increase in premiums, charging me $210 a month for a service we essentially don't use.
Is my wife required to be enrolled in Part B now in order to not be penalized by Tricare down the road? Or can we disenroll her from Part B and then re-enroll her when I turn 63, stop working and go on Social Security? I realize she wouldn't be eligible for any Tricare benefits while not enrolled in Part B for the next couple of years. But again, we don't use Part B or Tricare now because my health insurance covers us both.
A. Tricare does not "penalize" beneficiaries over age 65 for failing to enroll in Medicare Part B; those beneficiaries simply can't use Tricare unless and until they enroll in Part B.
Medicare does penalize people who are eligible for Part B if they do not sign up when they first become eligible and if they or their spouses are no longer working. This late-enrollment penalty is equal to 10 percent of the Part B premium for each year the beneficiary was eligible to sign up for Part B but for whatever reason did not do so.
In your situation, the operative phrase in the above paragraph is: "if they or their spouses are no longer working."
According to the recently updated 2015 guide, "Medicare & You," published by the Health and Human Services Department, individuals who have health coverage based on their own employment or a spouse's employment (emphasis added) may delay signing up for Part B without having to worry about the late-enrollment penalty. Once the individual's or the spouse's current employment ends, Medicare provides an eight-month window to sign up for Part B before the penalty kicks in.
Because you are still working and your wife is covered under your employer's plan, she fits the above scenario — she does not need to have Part B right now. However, again, as you note, she will not be able to use Tricare as long as she is not enrolled in Part B.
You can download the complete "Medicare & You" handbook here: www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/10050.pdf
Email questions to tricarehelp@militarytimes.com. Include "Tricare" in the subject line and do not attach files.
