Federal Retirees Paying Duplicate Premiums?

If you are a federal retiree and a Medicare recipient, you may be confused, you may be paying too much and you may be due some refunds.  The Federal Government knows this and they have sent a letter to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) telling them both that since they have not coordinated with one another, you may have overpaid and they may have to pay you back.

The letter asked CMS and OPM to provide information on the number of federal retirees enrolled in FEHBP and the Medicare prescription drug benefit.  The letter also asks for information regarding which plans each retiree is enrolled in along with an analysis of how much it has cost for duplicate coverage for both the retirees and the federal government.  This will be a big job and a large sum of money.  The letter was written by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee headed by Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Representative Danny Davis (D-IL.). 

The letter stated that more than 200,000 federal retirees enrolled in both the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and Medicare, the Medicare Part D coverage is duplicate coverage and is unnecessary.  The letter continues by saying that this has resulted in over $60 million in overcharges paid by the retirees plus over $140 million in subsidies paid by taxpayers.  This $200 million combined because excessive profits received by the private insurers that direct the drug plans.

CMS has begun to look into the situation according to the information in the letter and their spokesman has stated that they will respond to the lawmakers on the committee directly, rather than make any statements prematurely.

If you are a federal retiree and think that you might be in this situation, feel free to contact Medicare online at www.Medicare.gov , www.cms.gov , or call them at
1-800-MEDICARE for further information.