The End to the Silver Script Madness

Many, if not most, FEHB providers now offer Medicare-eligible individuals a Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) through the Employer Group Waiver Plan (EGWP). All GEHA standard and high plan retirees with Medicare Parts A and B, who live in the United States, are eligible for a PDP/EGWP prescription plan through SilverScript.

GEHA offered this for the first time last year and automatically enrolled all retirees with Medicare Parts A & B in this plan. This created widespread confusion, and it took me and many others months to opt out. In the meantime, we were enrolled in Part D without our permission, and many had Part D premiums deducted from our Social Security checks.

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GEHA sent out a letter in early February to all of their members announcing, “If you are satisfied with your current GEHA prescription drug coverage provided by Caremark, no action is needed. If you would like to enroll in the SilverScript plan, you will need to take steps to do so.”

I received many questions from our newsletter subscribers during the last Open Season about whether GEHA members would have to opt out each year. Their customer service department assured me that once you opt out, you are not required to do so each year, and I mentioned that in my column.

The letter that GEHA members received formalizes this message and puts it to rest. Many members stayed with Caremark because their medications were covered and often at a lower cost, plus if your income exceeded a certain limit, you must pay a Part D premium. We already pay too much for our healthcare when you add in Medicare Parts A & B, FEHB premiums, and FEDVIP coverage.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this will become the norm for all FEHB providers. The GEHA letter outlines the pros and cons of your options and provides guidance on how to opt into a SilverScript plan if desired. They also describe what will happen if you decide to disenroll.

Fortunately, if you decide to opt into the SilverScript program, you can disenroll at any time. There are a lot of moving parts. For example, if you move to SilverScript, you are issued a separate prescription drug card. If you cancel, they will have to reissue you a new GEHA High or Standard plan prescription drug card.

I suggest keeping this letter with your healthcare provider file; you never know what circumstances may arise that would warrant a change down the road.

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Dennis Damp

Dennis V. Damp is an author, retired federal manager, business owner, career counselor and veteran. Damp is the author of 28 books, a recognized benefits expert, and a retired federal manager with 35 years’ service. Dennis has been a guest on hundreds of radio talk shows, CNN’s YOUR MONEY and the Lou Dobbs Cable TV shows, lectured at universities and colleges, produced Internet web sites and training videos, and has written hundreds of articles for national magazines and newspapers. His books have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times and U.S. News & World Report.

Dennis joined the Air Force in 1968 and spent over three years on active duty and an additional seven years with the Air National Guard. He was hired by the Department of Defense (DOD) after leaving active duty and transferred to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1975. He spent the remainder of his career in various positions with the FAA. His last position was technical operations manager at the Pittsburgh International Airport’s air traffic control tower.