I am not eligible for Medicare but my husband is and we continued right on with Federal Employees BC/BS — only thing Medicare pays for is the Part A hospital and related expenses. We still use the same doctors and they don’t have to take Medicare but if you don’t use a preferred physician BC/BS won’t pay the full amount and you are on the hook. Use a PPO physician and nothing changed.
It happened when they forced federal employees into Medicare and they were allowed to keep their federal employees insurance instead of Part B and Part A was furnished at cost. Democrats did it to save Medicare.
Federal employees must be the exception, because state employees are not. Their retirement insurance, as soon as they are of age for SS is for a small portion of what medicare does not cover, they must accept and use Part A, medicare. Period, and you cannot go to a doctor who doesn’t accept it and use the retirement bc/bs instead.