What Other Coverages Can You Have With Medicare?
There are other insurance plans you can have alongside medicare. Some of these insurance plans may include:
- TRICARE: TRICARE [5] is a plan that covers people who are active and retired members of the military. The family members of those in the military also benefit from this plan. You can have TRICARE and Medicare if you are 65 and above or you are disabled.
- Getting covered by your partner’s private health insurance: If your partner works at a private company, you become automatically covered by the insurance given to your partner by the employer. You can have this plan together with Medicare.
- COBRA: COBRA stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. This is a plan that allows you to temporarily keep the private insurance given to you by your former employer after you have left the company. You can keep this plan for about 18 to 36 months.
Just like normal private health insurance, one of these plans or Medicare has to be the primary payer.
For TRICARE, if you are active in service, they become the primary payer ahead of medicare insurance. If you are not active in service, medicare becomes the primary payer while TRICARE pays second.
For COBRA, if you are 65 and above or you have any disability medicare becomes the primary payer. If you are diagnosed with end stage renal disease [6], COBRA becomes the primary payer while medicare pays second.