Click here to watch a recorded webinar about Medicare and the Educators’ Medicare Supplement.
Descriptions and rates of the EHA Direct Bill Plan and Educators’ Medicare Supplement are available at www.ehaplan.org/retiree-info. A webinar selected from one of this fall’s Zoom presentations is also available at this site. You may also contact BCBSNE’s Member Services Department at 800-991-5650 to ask about the Educators’ Medicare Supplement. Whenever calling, be sure to state the name of the plan for which you are calling. Additional Medicare information can be found at the website medicare.gov.
*Advantages of the Educators’ Medicare Supplement plan from BCBSNE: More than 5,000 individuals have selected this plan. It has an excellent dental option, which must be chosen upon initial enrollment in the plan. The rates are set for age bands (65-66,67-69,70-74,75-79,80-84, 85+), rather than individual ages. So long as you are in the same age band, you will only receive one rate increase per year, on the policy anniversary (which is January 1 of each year). Other Supplements are rated by individual ages, which means that each year you will receive two rate increases: one on your birthday (because you are a year older), and a second on the policy anniversary of the supplement (when the general overall rate increase for the plan is implemented).
Our Medicare Supplement is good in any state. If you move to another state, Educators’ Medicare Supplement covers you, but you will need to find a Medicare Part D Drug Plan that operates in the new state.
Educators’ Medicare Supplement offers both a plan F and a plan G coverage option. We can do that because our Supplement is only open to our members and their spouses and to subscribers to EHA insurance and their spouses, and is not available to the general public. The only difference between Plan F and Plan G is that Plan F covers the Medicare Part B deductible ($257 for 2025), and Plan G does not.
Educators’ Medicare Supplement is available to people who are transitioning from an EHA plan (and their spouses) OR who are members of NSEA-Retired (and their spouses). Many participants are both. Click here for the 2025 rates for Educators' Medicare Supplement. A full Plan Description of Educators’ Medicare Supplement can be found by clicking here.
Qualifying for Educators’ Medicare Supplement from BCBS:
- If moving from an EHA plan, a person and/or their spouse can select Educators’ Medicare supplement at age 65 even if they are not a retired member.
- If not moving from an EHA plan at age 65 (e.g. a Millard retiree), the individual needs to be an NSEA-Retired member. Spouses of members also qualify for Educators’ Medicare Supplement.
*Cautions: A doctor or medical care provider may accept you as a patient but may not accept Medicare reimbursement as “payment in full.” In that event, you may be responsible for some of the bill when you get care. If you do not enroll in Medicare Part D (the prescription drug program) when you are first eligible to enroll, you will be subject to a permanent premium surcharge when you do enroll. If you don’t take any prescription drugs, you should find the cheapest Part D provider plan until you start taking prescription drugs. Then use the Medicare website to find a plan that covers the drugs that you take.
Medicare Enrollment Reminders
If you are taking Social Security benefits when you turn 65, you will be automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A and B. Part A is free for most enrollees. Part B premiums vary with your adjusted gross income (AGI) from two years prior. Your Medicare coverage starts the first of the month in which you turn 65, unless your birthday is on the first of the month. In that case, your Medicare coverage begins the first of the month prior to your birthday month. But only if you enroll in Medicare on time!
If you do not want to collect Social Security at age 65, you can enroll in Medicare during one of three enrollment periods:
- Initial Enrollment Period: This time extends from 3 months prior to the month you turn 65 (birthday month), your birthday month, up to 3 months after your birthday month (a seven-month window). This is when most individuals enroll in Medicare for the first time.
- General Enrollment Period: This extends from January 1 through March 31. If you did not sign up for Part A and/or Part B during the Initial Enrollment Period, you can sign up during General Enrollment. Your coverage won’t start until July 1 of that year, and you may have to pay a higher Part A and/or Part B premium for late enrollment.
- Special Enrollment Period allows for Medicare enrollment anytime during the year when certain life-changing events occur. Some examples of such circumstances include leaving a current employer’s sponsored health plan, relocation to a new area, losing your spouse’s employer-sponsored group health plan, and death of a spouse.
*If you are still working at age 65 and continuing with your current school-district insurance, you will automatically be enrolled in Medicare Part A. In that event, you should decline Part B, and sign up for Medicare Part B as well as Part D and a Medicare supplement when your employer-sponsored group insurance ends.
Retirement Seminars
NSEA offers seminars on retirement planning to local associations. There is no individual charge for the one-hour seminars which are presented by NSEA Organizational Specialists Mike Wiesen and Kristen Sedlacek and hosted by NSEA-Retired. Visit www.nsea.org/retirement to sign up for a scheduled session or to sign up to host one for your local.
