Medicare has four parts: A, B, C and D. You must pay the federal government a premium for Medicare Part B, and possibly other parts of Medicare; the amount depends on your income. These premiums are separate from the premiums you pay to UC. See "Your costs" below and medicare.gov/basics/costs for more information.
Part A covers hospital care, skilled nursing and hospice care and home health services. Most people don’t pay a premium for Part A because you or your spouse or ex-spouse have worked full-time for 10 years and paid for it through Medicare taxes.
Part B covers outpatient medical services. Everyone enrolled in Medicare must pay a monthly premium to the federal government for Part B. For those with higher incomes, this premium is indexed to your modified adjusted gross income.
Part C is another term for “Medicare Advantage,” a type of Medicare-approved plan offered by private insurance companies that combines Medicare Parts A, B and D benefits. If you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicare pays your insurance company a set amount and the company approves and pays for your care.
Part D covers prescription drugs. The cost for Medicare Part D is folded into UC-sponsored Medicare plans, except for UC Medicare PPO without Rx. If you are paying a higher Part B premium due to your income (see information on Part B), you will also pay a Part D surcharge to the federal government.
UC sponsors five Medicare plans for eligible retirees who live in California, and they work in different ways to increase your coverage over the standard 80% usually covered by Medicare.
Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage and UC Medicare Choice are Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans (see The components of Medicare above). The insurance company that offers the Medicare Advantage plan receives a set amount from Medicare to pay for and manage your care; you pay a set copay for some services. You’ll work directly with your physician and the plan if you have questions about whether a certain service or medication will be covered.
UC may refund a portion of the Part B premium you pay to Medicare if UC’s contribution to your retiree medical benefits is more than the total cost of your premium. You’ll see the exact amount on your retiree benefit (pension) statement under “Medicare Part B Reimbursement.”
UC High Option Supplement to Medicare, UC Medicare PPO and UC Medicare PPO without Prescription Drugs are Medicare Supplement plans; your care is governed by Medicare’s rules. When you receive services, your provider submits claims to Medicare first, and then your claims are forwarded to your plan to cover even more of your costs.
If you are a retiree and you have some family members with Medicare coverage and others not currently eligible for Medicare, you’re considered a split-Medicare family. Your family is not eligible for the UC Health Savings Plan if you have family members with Medicare coverage.
Most UC non-Medicare medical plans have a Medicare version of the plan; for example, Kaiser Senior Advantage is the Medicare version of Kaiser Permanente. Other UC non-Medicare plans have “partner” plans; for example, UC Medicare PPO is the partner to UC Care and CORE.
With both types of plans, you enroll in the non-Medicare version of the plan and your Medicare-enrolled family members are automatically placed in the partner Medicare plan. You may not see the Medicare plan name when you enroll in the non-Medicare plan.
Non-Medicare family members |
Medicare-enrolled family members |
CORE |
UC Medicare PPO |
UC Blue & Gold HMO |
UC Medicare Choice |
Kaiser Permanente |
Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage |
UC Care PPO |
UC Medicare PPO |
You can view the monthly premiums for these split-Medicare families here.
If you enroll a family member in a new Medicare plan, you will need to complete an additional form:
- Kaiser Senior Advantage — Complete the Medicare Advantage Enrollment/Election form for Kaiser (UBEN 127) and mail to the plan and the UC Retirement Administration Service Center.
- UC Medicare Choice — Complete the enrollment form for UC Medicare Choice (UBEN 121) and mail to the UC Retirement Administration Service Center.
- UC Medicare PPO — Fill out the Medicare Prescription Drug Enrollment form for UC Medicare PPO (UBEN 123) and send it to the UC Retirement Administration Service Center.
Medicare Part A (coverage for hospitalization and facilities) is usually premium-free, but there is a standard monthly premium for Part B (doctor and outpatient services) with additional costs for some people depending on income. This premium is usually deducted from your Social Security benefit, or you are billed quarterly by Social Security. See the Medicare Fact Sheet and/or Medicare costs on Medicare.gov for standard rates.
If you are subject to extra Medicare Part B costs due to your income, you will also be required to pay a premium for Part D coverage. Check with Social Security to see if you are required to pay a higher Part B and Part D premium. Most of the UC-sponsored medical plans coordinate Medicare Part D (prescription drug) coverage with the plan’s coverage. This means that, unless you're enrolled in UC Medicare PPO without Prescription Drugs, you do not need separate Part D coverage.
The premiums you owe to Social Security for Medicare coverage are separate from your premium for UC medical coverage. Currently, UC shares the monthly cost of medical and dental coverage with retirees, up to a UC maximum that varies each year depending on overall costs. Under “graduated eligibility,” retirees may be eligible to receive from 5% to 100% of UC’s maximum contribution to retiree medical plan premium costs.