Explaining healthcare options for union members approaching retirement

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America's Work Force Union Podcast AWF NLO

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Guest Name:

Merrilee Logue | Duncan Lawson

Guest Website:

National Labor Office

Guest Social Media:

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Supportive Documents:

Merrilee Logue, Executive Director of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield National Labor Office, and Duncan Lawson, Director of Market Intelligence for Government Programs for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the healthcare landscape and options available to union members as they approach retirement.

As workers begin to think about retirement, the options for continued health coverage can be intimidating. Logue and Lawson discussed some of the options available for soon-to-be retirees. Logue shared one of the many questions she receives during conventions from union members: How can they keep their BCBS coverage, and what will happen when they retire?

Lawson explained the differences in Medicare and what each part—Part A, Part B and Part C—means. Together, the parts cover different components of healthcare coverage and can come with different costs. He also discussed how the federal government can cover a portion of Part A and Part B, but it will not cover all the potential costs relating to healthcare.

Logue and Lawson also spoke about Medicare Advantage and how it can cost less than traditional Medicare. They discussed the options available to a retiree within seven months of their retirement in the Initial Enrollment Period. Lawson explained how that period differs from the Annual Enrollment Period and what can be done in each period. Lawson said that he recommends checking with the union to see if they offer Medicare coverage for retirees age 65.

Please listen to the show above for more on Medicare and Medicare Advantage. If you would like to learn more, visit the Medicare page on the BCBS website or medicare.gov.

America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

Explaining healthcare options for union members approaching retirement

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