Q. I'm an Air Force retiree whose wife uses Medicare/Tricare for Life. All has gone well so far, but now her doctor says he's going to stop taking Medicare on assignment and has suggested my wife might want to look into a Medicare Advantage plan. Doctors who accept Medicare assignment are fairly scarce in our area. Since TFL always pays last, how would it work if she joined a Medicare supplement or Part C plan?

A. Should your wife choose to go with a Medicare Part C plan, she would not lose eligibility for Tricare for Life, but the way her health care is paid for would change a bit.

If she signed up for a Part C plan, that company would provide Medicare Part A and B benefits, and your wife would still pay her regular Part B premiums (plus possibly an additional premium to the Medicare Part C company). Since she would still be paying Part B premiums, which is the bedrock requirement for TFL eligibility, she would not be shut out of Tricare.

That said, most beneficiaries who are eligible for TFL don't need a Part C plan because the basic combination of Medicare Parts A and B plus Tricare Standard that comprise Tricare for Life will cover 100 percent of a beneficiary's medical bills on the vast majority of claims. So the other option is simply to find another Medicare provider (although you note they are scarce in your area).

Another relative point: Some Part C plans offer additional coverage that is not available under regular Medicare Parts A and B, or, for that matter, under Tricare Standard (the Tricare portion of TFL). The most common examples are routine vision and hearing exams, as well as eyeglasses and hearing aids.

Either way — regular Medicare Parts A/B or Medicare Part C — Medicare would continue to be your wife's primary coverage, with Tricare Standard serving as a backup secondary payer.

One more point of note: Some Medicare Part C plans require enrollees to sign up for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage as an integral part of the package.

There is virtually no circumstance in which TFL beneficiaries would benefit from Medicare Part D. If your wife signed up for Part D, she would have to file separate claims with Tricare to be reimbursed for the Part D plan's drug co-payments and deductibles, and she would be shut out of the Tricare mail-order pharmacy benefit.

Whoever you may talk to about a Part C plan, be sure to ask if it requires Part D enrollment, or whether Part D enrollment is separate and voluntary, and take that into consideration before you sign up.

Email tricarehelp@militarytimes.com. Include the word "Tricare" in the subject line.

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