ID Card

Although the subject is ID cards, which somehow got sidetracked to Tricare. I would like to respond to the previous posts regarding Medicare/Tricare for Life. I currently pay $240.00 per year for Tricare Prime. When I become Medicare eligable, the basic premium Medicare charges is $93.50 per month. The Medicare premium is based on the past two years adjusted income on your tax return which could make the Medicare monthly premium considerably higher. So...we're finding the older we get the more medical costs rise...exactly what we need with our fixed income!!!

thanks Glenn,
Now my question is are Tricare for life and Tricare Standard the same? Is Medicare really that expensive per month? If I "have" to use medicare why am I forced to the high premiums?
Boy this is getting away from ID cards.

At 65 you loose your eligibility for Tricare (all of them) unless you sign on for Medicare, which IS more expensive BUT it will cover almost everything so you have to figure in what you were paying out of pocket under Tricare Prime.

It is also a moot point because either you sign up for Medicare and get Tricare Starndard (which has always been free) or you loose Tricare eligibility. It's "Rock and Hard Place" time and there are no options. My understanding is that, except for those who have had Prime and used military hospitals, the Medicare/Tricare mix ends up saving them money.

For retirees who use military hospitals it usually is more expensive and in fact they can be thrown out onto the economy.

Tricare for Life gives you a broader universe of doctors and medical services to choose from. Some people are happy, others are angry. C'est La Vis!

Glenn

thanks for the info Glenn, it sounds like a real "Catch 22".
I still have a while to go, but I will be looking into it closer. We optioned for Prime and just have the premium taken out by allotment. I use my wifes family in Vegas as our address so that we can use the "Federal" hospital at Nellis as our primary DR. It has worked out great and it has been good to have a primary DR. for history purposes. Hope that can stay that way when we are forced to "Standard"