FEHB expatriate retiree medical coverage

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frugalecon
Posts: 671
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 11:39 am

FEHB expatriate retiree medical coverage

Post by frugalecon »

I am a married Fed approaching retirement age (though earlier than Medicare age), and I am assessing options for an overseas retirement. While Medicare does not cover healthcare ex-US AFAIK, several FEHB plans do. Because Feds can decline Medicare and just use FEHB even after they turn 65, it seems that this is a way to get medical coverage after 65 even if one lives primarily outside the U.S. (There may be other reasons to just stick with FEHB and decline Medicare, e.g., for IRMAA reasons.) I searched the forum but did not see threads that specifically addressed this issue, so I was wondering if anyone was either pursuing this strategy or had considered it and had thoughts about its advisability. Thanks for any insights you might have.
MichDad
Posts: 825
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 3:50 pm

Re: FEHB expatriate retiree medical coverage

Post by MichDad »

I retired from federal employment four years ago at age 62. I have a FERS pension and my wife and I are in the FEHB program. We live in Europe about half of each year. When I turned age 65, I declined Medicare Part B, although I signed up for Part A because it's "free." We make substantial Roth conversions each year. So, not having Part B means we don't have to worry about the IRMAA.

We've been enrolled in GEHA standard medical since 2018 and find that it's fine for our medical insurance needs both in and outside the USA.

The last few years of my federal employment, we were enrolled in GEHA's HDHP and fully funded our Health Savings Accounts. I save all our medical, dental, and drug expense receipts and I maintain a detailed Excel spreadsheet with all of this information by year. I'm waiting a few more years before I withdraw our HSA funds.

We're also enrolled in GEHA dental. In the past, we were in the standard option for GEHA dental but this year we upgraded to GEHA high option dental coverage. We've found that GEHA dental has not been easy to deal with. They have way too many rules and restrictions on coverage. We've had lots of dental expenses this year and I'm still waiting to see how GEHA high option dental will cover them. The good news is that we get very high quality dental work done locally in Europe for less than half the price for the same services in the USA. If fact, we've concluded that the quality here is better than in the USA. In light of this, I'm thinking that we'll drop our dental insurance in 2023 and simply pay out-of-pocket for all our dental needs. We'll try to have our dental work done in Europe in the future.

MichDad
chalet
Posts: 235
Joined: Wed Aug 28, 2019 9:59 pm

Re: FEHB expatriate retiree medical coverage

Post by chalet »

with all the choices in FEHB, I would find out if the local hospitals have a preferred plan.

MichDad wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 11:25 am We've been enrolled in GEHA standard medical since 2018 and find that it's fine for our medical insurance needs both in and outside the USA.
outside the USA, do you pay first, then send receipts to GEHA?
Last edited by chalet on Sat Jun 25, 2022 2:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
MichDad
Posts: 825
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 3:50 pm

Re: FEHB expatriate retiree medical coverage

Post by MichDad »

chalet wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:58 pm with all the choices in FEHB, I would find out if the local hospitals have a preferred plan.

MichDad wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 11:25 am We've been enrolled in GEHA standard medical since 2018 and find that it's fine for our medical insurance needs both in and outside the USA.
outside the USA, do you pay first, then send receipts to GEHA?
My experience in Europe is that local hospitals do not have a preferred plan from the USA.

With GEHA, I pay all medical, prescription drug, and dental expenses up front in the local currency and send our receipts to GEHA for reimbursement. GEHA reimburses medical expenses at preferred provider rates.

I should add that we purchase evacuation insurance each year in the event we need to return to the USA for treatment.

MichDad
HoneyBee
Posts: 123
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2011 8:45 pm

Re: FEHB expatriate retiree medical coverage

Post by HoneyBee »

When I retired from the federal government, I kept my BCBS Basic insurance. I travel a lot and according to the policy, I am covered world wide. They even have some preferred providers in certain European cities. Luckily, I have never had to "test" the coverage by filing a claim, but this gives me some piece of mind and I don't feel like I need to buy the most expensive travel insurance.

And Medicare does not cover one outside the US.
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