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How do I know if I should disenroll or defer enrollment in Medicare Part B?
If you’re
serving outside the United States for 12 months or more and have adequate insurance
coverage (such as the Senior Service Medical Plan), you may choose to disenroll
or defer enrollment. However, in some cases it may not be in your best interest
to do so. For example, you should not disenroll from Part B if you’re enrolled in
a retiree health plan from DMBA, TRICARE for Life, or any other plan where
disenrolling would adversely affect your benefits from the plan. For more information,
see the next question.
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Will disenrolling or deferring my enrollment in Part B adversely affect my coverage
from another plan?
To find out if you can safely disenroll from or defer Part B,
check with your current health insurance provider. Be sure to ask your insurance
provider these questions:
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Will disenrolling or deferring my enrollment in Part B adversely affect my coverage
from another plan? To find out if you can safely disenroll from or defer Part B,
check with your current health insurance provider. Be sure to ask your insurance
provider these questions:
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Will my insurance plan provide sufficient coverage while I’m outside of the United
States? (If it won’t, you might consider disenrolling from the plan during your
mission.)
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If I discontinue my insurance coverage during my mission, can I re-enroll when I
return without any penalties, delays in coverage, pre-existing condition limitations,
or underwriting restrictions?
If applicable, explain to your insurance provider that, since they don’t provide
adequate coverage outside of the United States, you’ll have other coverage during
your mission and will provide a Certificate of Creditable Coverage to them when
you return home. If your insurance provider says you can safely disenroll, be sure
to ask for a written confirmation as a protection to you.
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I can safely disenroll from Part B. How do I disenroll and when will it become effective?
To disenroll, submit the Request for Termination of Premium Hospital and/or Supplementary
Medical Insurance form to the Social Security Administration office. When filling
out the form, remember to only mark the “Medical Insurance” box. Do not mark the
“Hospital Insurance” box, which is for Part A. When indicating the reason for ending
your Medical Insurance, refer to CMS Policy HI00805.350 Special Enrollment Period
for International Volunteers. Make one copy of the completed form for your records
and another copy to send to Missionary Medical.
Your disenrollment request will become effective at the end of the month following
the month the Social Security Administration receives it. For example, if your request
is received on March 15, your Part B coverage will continue until April 30.
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Do I have to be serving outside of the United States to take advantage of this new
legislation?
Yes. You must be serving outside of the United States when your disenrollment
from Part B becomes effective. If you’re already serving outside of the United States,
you can submit your disenrollment request at any time, but we recommend you don’t
disenroll if you have less than 6 months remaining on your mission. If you haven’t
begun your mission service yet, don’t submit your disenrollment request any earlier
than the month before your anticipated departure date.
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What if I submit my disenrollment request and then delay my mission, or my assignment
changes to inside the United States?
You may revoke your disenrollment request by
submitting a reversal request form or calling the Social Security Administration
anytime before your disenrollment becomes effective. If you don’t revoke your disenrollment
request before it becomes effective, you may experience a gap in coverage or be
subject to a premium penalty and waiting period when you re-enroll.
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I’m not yet eligible for Part B. How do I defer my enrollment once I become eligible?
If you aren’t already receiving Social Security benefits and you become eligible
for Parts A and B while serving your mission, you should request enrollment in Part
A from the Social Security Administration. At the same time, notify them that you
aren’t enrolling in Part B and explain why.
If you’re already receiving Social Security benefits, the Social Security Administration
will send you materials about enrollment in Part A and elective enrollment in Part
B when you become eligible. Those materials will include forms for declining enrollment
in Part B.
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How do I enroll in Part B when my mission ends?
Your SSMP coverage will only continue until the end of the month in which your service ends. We’ll send you forms and
information on how to enroll in Part B about three months before your return date.
After sending in the forms, your coverage will begin on the first day of the month
following the month you enroll.
The special enrollment period for international volunteers allows you to enroll
or re-enroll in Part B without increased premiums or waiting periods. This enrollment
period begins on the first day of the month in which you’re released. Please mail
your forms so that they will arrive at the Social Security Administration shortly
after this date. Depending upon the quality of the mail service where you’re serving,
you may want to use a private delivery service. It’s very important that your forms
are received before the end of the month in which you’re released.
Although you will have Part B coverage beginning the first day of the month following
the month you enroll, it may take several months before you receive a new Medicare
card. Until you receive your new card, explain to your health-care providers that
you have enrolled in Part B but haven’t received your card yet. They should know
how to handle such a situation.
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What about Medicare Part A?
Part A coverage helps pay for inpatient hospital care,
inpatient skilled nursing facility care, and some home health and hospice care.
If you or your spouse has been adequately employed in the United States for more
than 10 years, you don’t have to pay for Part A coverage. (For more information,
contact the Social Security Administrationwww.ssa.gov. If you have to pay for your
Part A coverage, please contact Missionary Medical.)
Do not disenroll or defer your enrollment in Part A. If you turn 65 while serving
and already receive benefits from Social Security, your enrollment in Part A will
be automatic. If you turn 65 while serving and don’t already receive Social Security
benefits, you must call Medicare at 1-800-772-1213 inside the United States or 410-965-9398
outside the United States. To avoid any gaps in coverage, you should enroll in Part
A as soon as you’re eligible.
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What about Medicare Part D?
Part D provides prescription drug coverage and may be
included in your Medicare-approved plan or purchased separately. To qualify for
Part D coverage, you must maintain a legal residence in the United States. Whether
you can continue your Part D coverage while you serve depends on how your Part D
provider interprets this legal residence requirement. If you continue Part D coverage,
you’ll probably need someone to forward your prescriptions to you in the mission
field, since they will be mailed to your U.S. address. If you discontinue Part D,
you may re-enroll when you return home and either show you’ve been outside of the
United States or have had non-Medicare creditable prescription drug coverage (such
as SSMP coverage). In any case, you should carefully consider whether dropping your
Part D coverage and re-enrolling later will result in any gaps in coverage or other problems.
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What should I do now?
Medicare Dis-enrollment
Medicare Re-enrollment
Please contact us to let us know if you’ll be disenrolling, deferring, or maintaining your Part B coverage:
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By Telephone at 801-578-5650 or Toll free at 1-800-777-1647
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By FAX at 801-578-5907
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By Email to srmiss@dmba