Anybody with FEHB BCBS Basic and an HDHP?

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OpenMinded1
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Joined: Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:27 am

Anybody with FEHB BCBS Basic and an HDHP?

Post by OpenMinded1 »

I know the subject situation is probably uncommon, and at first glance might not seem to make sense, but I'm trying to find out from those of you that have FEHB BCBS Basic and a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) - two separate plans - how coordination of benefits works. I have looked at the plan brochures and exchanged messages with the potential insurance providers, and think I know how it works, but just trying to do some additional research. I'm trying to be extra thorough before I pull the trigger on this since a mistake could be expensive. We use our health insurance on a regular basis.

My primary question: With the situation I'm considering, my wife would have a HDHP thru her private employer as primary insurance and FEHB BCBS Basic as secondary insurance. The deductible on the HDHP (primary insurance) is $2000 when using the local network. From my research it seems like, for covered services, BCBS Basic would pay whatever the HDHP doesn't pay including what it doesn't pay because of the deductible. BCBS Basic generally pays a certain allowance for covered services. There is no deductible. If the provider asks for more, he/she doesn't get any more that the allowance, and the insured doesn't have to pay the difference. So why pay for a Standard Deductible Health Plan (SDHP) when BCBS Basic will pretty much cover the high deductible as the secondary insurer? Does my understanding of this seem right? If it is, it seems like I should go with the HDHP offered by her employer instead of the SDHP that is much more expensive. There are a few other benefits that are different between the two plans (HDHP and SDHP) offered by her employer, but they don't seem significant in terms of what I will pay out of pocket; e.g. visits to primary care physicians are $20 co-pay for the HDHP instead of $10 for the SDHP etc.

Why don't we just go with one plan? 1) My wife can't sign up for my FEHB insurance - I'm a former federal employee - if she doesn't have it when I pass away, 2) The insurance plan offered by my wife's employer does't work outside the area we're living in, and we would like to move out of the area in a few years. 3) The prescription benefits provided by her employer's HDHP insurance are much better than those provided by BCBS Basic. 4) The HDHP plan would only cost $56 per month for both of us. The SDHP Plan $166 per month.

Incidentally: We both have her employer-provided insurance and FEHB. Her employer-provided insurance is primary for her, and secondary for me. This is the first year we will have to pay for her employer-provided insurance. We have been getting it for free since 2005. We're spoiled.

Primarily interested in the question above, but I'd be interested in any other comments related to the FEHB BCBS Basic and HDHP combination.
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