Medicare Part A is no charge for Medicare recipients. Until the 80’s Federal Civil Service were not part of Medicare or Social Security. Then they made Civil Service part of Medicare and you had a choice to stay in the old system CSRS or go into FERS where you paid into social security and Thrift Savings was part of your retirement. At that time, everyone was part of Medicare Part A.
When Civil Service reach SS retirement age, they were given an option of Part B (Doctor) or keep their federal employee health insurance which you have in retirement which would pay the same as Medicare. NARFE recommended the plans that you did not need Part B which includes Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO plan and several others. They said it would be a waste to pay for Part B.
Under today’s plan no one has to take Part B and IMO if you can still keep your insurance, it would be a waste.
If the plan now says you have to take Part B, I want to slam it in the face of the Federal unions and ask how they like ZERO now? Or are we still exempt from OBAMACARE as a payoff to federal unions? Who knows since there are five different bills.
The plan I paid for notified me that on my 65th birthday that my insurance was canceled.
That was 7 years ago.
It was called pay for part B or have no hospital coverage.