Re medicare. home state= ny. i have private insurance. why is my private insurance secondary to medicare?

Question

Re medicare. home state= ny. i have private insurance. why is my private insurance secondary to medicare?

Answer 1

There are specific coordination of benefit rules for Medicare that are set by CMS (the federal agency that administers Medicare)...those rules apply to all Medicare enrollees across the board.

If you are retired, Medicare will always be primary to your private insurance.

There are only certain circumstances where a private plan would be primary over Medicare.  (For example, if you are employed at a company with more than 20 employees, your employer's plan would be primary over Medicare.)  

To see all of the Medicare coordination of benefits rules, look at the table in this link:  http://www.idfpr.com/DOI/HealthInsurance...  (Don't be thrown off by the fact that the link is from the Illinois Dept of Insurance - the Medicare COB rules are set by the federal gov't and are the same in every state.)

Answer 2

Because once Medicare kicks in, it's always the primary insurance.  That's just how it works.

Answer 3

Because that's how it works, everywhere.

Answer 4

When you turn 65 most private insurance companies require you to get Medicare A which usually does not cost you anything since you have paid into the system your whole life. Medicare A is for hospital insurance. Your private insurance picks up for the doctor visits and other medical expenses. Be sure to get a letter of cancellation from your insurance carrier if you ever do decide to get Medicare B when you retire. For more information visit:

http://www.nymedicare.org