Can You Have Other Health Insurance While on Medicare?

Many individuals have not yet retired when they're eligible for Medicare, so they may still have health insurance coverage. Now that they have hit 65, though, they are also eligible for Medicare as well. Is it possible to have two different health insurances, one of them being Medicare, at the same time?

Yes, it's quite possible to be enrolled in both private insurance and Medicare at the same time. Receiving coverage from both a private insurance company, as well as Medicare, is referred to as a “coordination of benefits.” This coordination of benefits determines if the private insurance provider or Medicare will pay for medical expenses/costs first. The insurance that is required to pay first is the “primary payer.” Medicare can sometimes be deemed the primary payer when it comes to the two insurances. It depends on what type of private insurance coverage you have to fully determine who is the primary payer and who is the secondary payer. 

Once the order of payment is decided, the steps to apply coverage are as such:

• The primary payer, which is sometimes Medicare, pays for any medical services until their coverage limit has been reached.
• Then the secondary payer, which could be the private insurance, finishes up by paying for anything that the primary payer did not cover in the beginning. 

What Different Types Of Coverage Can You Have With Medicare?

If you're still employed but became eligible for Medicare and enrolled during your Initial Enrollment Period, you're allowed to have private health insurance coverage through your employer. You may also still be enrolled on your spouse’s group plan if they're still receiving health insurance from their employer and receive Medicare at the same time.

You're also able to be enrolled in Medicare and COBRA at the same time. COBRA is a plan that allows you, or your spouse, to temporarily keep private health insurance coverage once employment ends. Finally, you can also enroll in TRICARE and Medicare simultaneously. TRICARE is insurance coverage for active military personnel, as well as retired military veterans. It also provides coverage for their dependents. In order to be able to have both TRICARE and Medicare at the same time, you must: 

• Be 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B
• Have a disability, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and be enrolled in both Medicare Part A and Part B
• Have Medicare and are a dependent of an active duty service member with TRICARE coverage

Call Us Today

While most individuals that are 65 and older only have Medicare as their primary insurance, there are some who already have insurance but have entered into their Initial Enrollment Period for Medicare and are scared to apply due to active health coverage. But there’s no need to worry! It’s possible to have private health insurance from another provider and still receive health coverage and benefits from Medicare.

To learn more about having other health insurance with Medicare, give us a call today!