Medicare Primary/Secondary Law

[Guest Terry O]

Our company health care plan states that "employees who reach age 60, with 30 years service, are eligible for continued coverage at the same premium, until age 65 (when they are eligible for Medicare)"

We now have an employee who is retiring and his spouse is age 69 and already on Medicare. Under present law, she has been covered primary by our Plan and secondary by Medicare. As our employee will now be "not active", I have taken the position that his spouse will now be offered COBRA and at the most be entitled to secondary coverage under our Plan. The spouse has countered that if she is secondary on our Plan she should be eligible for Dental and Prescription Drugs, just like an active employee, even though she will be filing her regular medical claims through Medicare as her primary payer. I am drafting a letter to tell her she is not covered for Dental and R/X.

Am I OK here or should I reconsider?

Terry O

[Guest Al Burkhart]

You should reconsider.