I am a retired 61 years old male with CSRS. Do I need Medicaid and/Medicare?

I am retired from the federal government and have always kept my Federal Employees Health Benefits. When I became eligible for Medicare I signed up for that too. Now I have Medicare for my primary and chose Blue Cross/ Blue Shield as my secondary. I also have optional vision and dental coverage. I'm going to reconsider next open season whether we still need the vision & dental, mostly as a cost savings issue. At 65 you should be eligible for Medicare Part A (hospitalization) for free. If so, take it. Your decision really comes down to whether or not to take and pay for Part B. This is where it gets more complicated. Look at the back of your FEHB booklet for the chart that explains which insurance is primary, secondary under different circumstances. If you take a post retirement job with health insurance it gets messy. You can defer taking Part B if you have an FEHB policy. If you change your mind later you should be able to get Part B without a late signup penalty. The idea is that since you already have a good policy you don't have to take and pay for Medicare. I'm happy paying for both because the only thing I ever pay out of pocket for (so far) is my medication co-pays. (I'm not counting glasses and dental work because that's not part of most FEHB plans, which is why I have those supplementals.) The good news is that you still have several years to look into this and see what changes occur in both Medicare and FEHB before you are 65. Medicaid is a totally different issue which I'm not going to cover except to say it's a medical welfare program. Unless you need long term nursing home care you are not likely to need it or qualify because your pension is likely to exceed the monthly monthly income levels. You aren't required to take Medicare but I consider it money well spent. You can also call Social Security and OPM for more info. Ask SS to send you a copy of the free Medicare book that comes out every year. You will get a better idea of the benefits, ways of getting Medicare (like a Medicare Advantage program), etc. so you can make an informed decision.

When you retired, did anyone go over the list of benefits you would have, specifically coverage from having been in the civil service system?