The New York City Health Benefits Program has announced that it paid Medicare Part B reimbursements for the 2018 calendar year in April 2019 for Medicare-eligible retirees and Medicare-eligible retiree dependents. The reimbursement is either direct-deposited into your checking account, for those on TRS pensions, or a check is mailed, for those in TIAA. If you did not receive your reimbursement, contact Hollace Humphrey in the University Benefits Office at 646-664-3409 or send a letter (including your social security number and phone number) to the NYC Health Benefits Program at 40 Rector St, 3rd floor, NY, NY 10006.
Those eligible retirees who retired before 2016 and do not also receive a reimbursement under IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) can apply for an additional reimbursement of up to $300 by filing a Medicare Part B Differential Form along with their Social Security 1099 income report form for 2018. The differential payment will be issued in Spring 2020. To download and print out the Differential Form, go to tinyurl.com/differential-form.
PAYING MORE
Many PSC retirees pay more for Medicare Part B (the standard Medicare Part B deduction is $134 per month from the monthly social security benefit), which is called IRMAA. The monthly Medicare Part B deduction is more because those retirees’ income is above a specified level, and they are entitled to a larger reimbursement since they pay more. While the basic Medicare Part B reimbursement is paid automatically, those retirees who pay more under IRMAA must apply each year for the IRMAA portion of their reimbursement because income levels vary from year to year. (You can apply for up to three years of IRMAA reimbursements retrospectively at the same time.) For more information, go to the NYC Health Benefits Program website, nyc.gov/hbp, and click on Retiree.
IRMAA reimbursements for calendar year 2018 will be paid in October 2019. Those pre-2016 retirees eligible for the differential of up to $300 (above) do not have to submit a Differential Form; they will receive their differential in November 2019.
