Medicare Crossover

Congratulations, your 65th Birthday is due this year!

I'm not really sure if this is a time of congratulations but here it is and we can stop it about as easy as stopping a Freight Train. My 65th Birthday is in the middle of December and I was just thinking about who I should call to see what to expect.

Then as luck would have it the US Government is actually on the ball, I received a Medicare ID card and a Medicare booklet and a form asking me to say yes to Part A and Part B. Before I go any further I hope you all know that it is mandatory for our benefits to work properly that we enroll in Part B however, we should not enroll in Part D. If you don't know that or prefer not to take my word for it please contact our Benefits Division at (212) 435-2870 and ask.

Anyway to make a long story even longer, following are the steps you need to take. Very important note, Do Not Apply to the Medicare Crossover until you reach the first day on Medicare. The first day Medicare takes effect is the first day of the month of your 65th birthday:

Call UHC at 877-259-1391, please note you will need your Subscriber ID found on the dark grey id card which by the way I needed a magnifying glass and a light to read. Do this before calling it's easier.
They will tell you to Mail or Fax them a copy of your new Medicare card and your UHC card. The message should state that you "Request Medicare Crossover Enrollment". The snail mail address is:

United Health Care
PO Box 740800
Atlanta GA. 30374

Of course I choose to scan & Fax to (801) 567-5498 rather then mail my cards.

Now call Employee Benefits at (212) 435-2870 and inform them about the exciting event of turning 65 this year. They will ask you to mail or fax the Medicare card to them. Their address is:

Port Authority Employee Benefits
225 Park Ave. South
Employee Benefits, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10003

I again choose to fax my card to (212) 435-2871, don't forget to mention the Medicare Crossover Enrollment stuff so they know why you sending them a Medicare card.

Note: While on the phone with Benefits I asked if there is anything that the PA has to send me about Medicare. Within two days I received a packet with a lot of information about Medicare. I have not read it all yet but there was a cover memo addressed to me that one sentence in particular struck me as very important. It stated that "if Benefits does not get a copy of my Medicare card by the day after my Birthday, they will assume I no longer require PA health benefits and will adjust their records accordingly."

My Advice: Don't procrastinate contact Employee Benefits and get them a copy of your Medicare card.

By the way, the reason you should want to do this is that UHC will handle all your paper work and you won't have to be mailing and faxing bills all over the place. In closing my I say "Happy Birthday!" and many more.

Joe SanSevero, Webmaster

Note: I recently was asked a question from a retiree, "Does the Port Authority reimburse retirees for Medicare part B premiums?" I felt this would be a good place to share the answer to that question:

First, the bad news you will be paying for this premium out of your own pocket. There is good news but sorry it's not for everyone. There was an enhancement added that will pick up the Part B premium for some who retired after 7/2000.

I have also been advised by Employee Benefits that due to the many different possible retirement options to please call Employee Benefits at 212-435-2870 and they will answer your question as it relates to each individual retiree. So that means for many of us including me the premium will come out of our pocket.

Click here for Medicare Part B premium table

Important Note: I recently was asked a very important question by one of our retirees in the Para Forum. The question was:

Have any of you, who are on Medicare, been successful in obtaining UHC reimbursement for services rendered by a doctor who has opted out of Medicare?

The catch-22 seems to be that UHC will only pay some portion of the Medicare approved amount and there is no Medicare approved amount if a doctor has opted out of Medicare.

Tom Kearney from the Para Board has very good info on what procedure to use:

We pay the doctors' bills directly to them when the bill is presented. The doctors forward the bills to Medicare, which reimburses us by check payable to us for whatever amount they deem appropriate. Medicare forwards the appropriate information to UHC, which sends us another check to cover their part of the reimbursement.

But this system will work only when the doctors forward the bills to Medicare, because Medicare does not accept bills from individuals.

For those interested in joining the conversation find it on the Para Forum:

http://para.forumcircle.com/viewtopic.php?t=124