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Eligible retirees are not held to an Open Enrollment period for benefits and may make changes to their benefits selections at any time. To enroll in or make a change to your current retiree benefit elections, please complete and submit the Enrollment Change Form along with required documentation if adding dependent(s) to coverage to OHRM Benefits Division. 

Email: Benefits@co.pg.md.us

Fax: 301-883-6192

Mail or hand-deliver: 1400 McCormick Drive, Suite 110, Largo, MD 20774

You and/or your eligible dependent must enroll in Medicare Part A and Part B when you first become eligible. This also applies to individuals who are eligible to receive disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. 

Coverage provided through the County for Medicare eligible participants supplements Medicare Part A and Part B. You must elect one of the County’s supplemental medical plans:

• Kaiser Medicare HMO Plan 
• Cigna Open Access Plus In-Network (Cigna HMO) 
• Cigna Open Access Plus (Cigna PPO) 

Medicare will become the primary payer of your medical claims and the supplemental plan will act as the secondary payer. 

For Senior rates please click here.

Contact Medicare:

Toll-free number: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)
Website: www.medicare.gov 

The Kaiser Medicare HMO includes prescription benefits. If you elect the Kaiser Medicare HMO Plan, you must discontinue enrollment in the County’s prescription plan. Enrollment in the Kaiser Medicare HMO Plan will not occur until confirmation is received from Kaiser that you have completed their packet and have been enrolled. 

SPLIT ELIGIBILITY

If you are eligible for Medicare and one of your dependents is not (or vice versa) you must maintain the appropriate coverage level and the senior premium rates will not apply until you remove any additional dependents. If this applies to you, contact the OHRM Benefits Division at 301-883-6380. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

1. If you are not automatically enrolled in Medicare, sign up by contacting the Social Security Administration three months before you turn and/or your dependents turn age 65. 
2. Fill out the Group Medicare Election/Enrollment form and submit to Kaiser for approval. 
3. Once you receive approval from Kaiser, complete an Enrollment Change Form to enroll in one of the County’s supplemental medical plans.
4. Submit the form(s) with a copy of your Medicare card showing enrollment in Part A and Part B to the OHRM Benefits Division: 
   • Email: Benefits@co.pg.md.us 
   • Fax: 301-883-6192 

For participants in the Cigna medical supplemental plans, the County offers a Medicare Part D Prescription Drug plan through Express Scripts. Medicare Part D is an extension of Medicare Part A and Part B. 

The Medicare Part D plan offers: 

• Purchase up to a 90- day supply of maintenance medications (medications that treat ongoing conditions) either at the retail or mail-order pharmacy. 
• Mandatory generic requirement does not apply. Therefore, if a brand name medication has a generic alternative, you can get the brand name medication without penalty. 
• You may qualify for “extra help” from the federal government to assist with your prescription plan premium and co-payments. 

When Coverage Becomes Effective 

The OHRM Benefits Division will automatically enroll you in the Medicare Part D plan if you are on the Cigna Plan. The OHRM Benefits Division will work with Express Scripts to complete the enrollment process required by the federal government for the Medicare Part D plan. 

This enrollment process takes time to complete and the Medicare Part D plan may not take effect on the same date as the switchover to the Cigna supplemental medical plan, if you are enrolled in a plan. 

You will remain in the Non-Medicare Prescription Drug Plan until the County enrolls you in the Medicare Part D Plan. The OHRM Benefits Division will send you a letter informing you when your Medicare Part D enrollment is in progress. Express Scripts will also provide retirees with additional information regarding your enrollment in the Medicare Part D plan. 

To qualify for Extra Help, you must be receiving Medicare, have limited resources and income, and reside in one of the 50 States or the District of Columbia. The Low Income Subsidy (LIS) helps people with Medicare pay for prescription drugs, and lowers the costs of Medicare prescription drug coverage. 

NOTE: It is important to note that Medicare does impose an additional Part D premium for high wage earners, which is paid directly to Social Security. This requirement is known as the Part D Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA). Social Security will notify you if this requirement applies to you. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

1. If you are not automatically enrolled in Medicare, sign up by contacting the Social Security Administration three months before you turn and/or your dependents turn age 65. 
2. Complete an Enrollment Change Form to enroll in one of the County’s supplemental medical plans.
3. Submit the form(s) with a copy of your Medicare card showing enrollment in Part A and Part B to the OHRM Benefits Division: 
   • Email: Benefits@co.pg.md.us 
   • Fax: 301-883-6192 

Contact Express Scripts
Express Scripts Medicare Customer Service : 1-855-778-1432
Website: www.express-scripts.com   

Spouses of active employees who are covered under the employee’s health insurance plan(s) will be able to continue their coverage as a Surviving spouse only if the employee is a public safety officer who dies in the line of duty. All other active employees’ spouses and dependents will be offered COBRA in the event of their death. Eligible spouses will be charged the monthly retiree health insurance premium for the public safety class the employee was enrolled upon their death. 

Dependents of active employees with no spouse on their plan(s) will be able to continue their health insurance coverage as a surviving dependent only if the employee is a public safety officer who dies in the line of duty. Surviving dependents will be allowed to continue coverage with the County up until the end of month in which they turn 26. Eligible dependents will be charged the monthly retiree health insurance premium for the public safety class the employee was enrolled upon their death. 

Spouses and Dependents of Retirees who are covered under the retiree’s health insurance plan(s) will be be eligible to continue their enrollment in the health insurance plan(s) as a surviving spouse or surviving dependent upon the retiree’s death. Surviving spouses/ dependents are eligible to enroll in the same health insurance plan(s) coverage as they had while enrolled as a spouse/dependent under the deceased retiree’s plan(s). Surviving spouses/ dependents are not eligible for the following: not eligible for life insurance, not eligible to elect new coverage plans for any reason and not eligible to re-enroll in health insurance plan(s) once they elect to drop the plan(s). Surviving spouses will be allowed to continue coverage with the County until their death as long as they don’t remarry. If the spouse remarries, they and any dependents on the plan will be offered COBRA as their health insurance coverage with the County will terminate at the end of the month in which they marry. Surviving dependents will be allowed to continue coverage up until the end of the month in which they turn 26 and then will be offered COBRA. Surviving Dependents are not allowed to add new dependents to their coverage. All dependent children will be allowed to continue their coverage up until end of month in which they turn 26. Eligible surviving spouses/dependents will be billed the monthly survivor health insurance premium.  

If you have questions regarding your eligibility please contact the Benefits Division at 301-883-6380 or email at benefits@co.pg.md.us

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU 

FREQUENTLY USED FORMS 

• Retiree Guide (PDF)

• Address Change Form (PDF)

• Retiree Enrollment Change Form (PDF)

• Dental DMO Form (PDF)

• Life Insurance Verification Form (PDF)

• Beneficiary Change Form (PDF)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• How can i get information about my Maryland State Pension? 
  • Information on the state retirement plan is available at https://sra.maryland.gov  or by phone at 1-800-492-5909.
• How can I make changes to my tax withholdings/ direct deposit?
  • Retirees can make changes to their tax withholding/direct deposit and update their address through the Member Direct Portal. If you do not have an account please reach out to the Pensions Division at 301-883-6390 or pensions@co.pg.md.us. 

CONTACTS 

If you have questions about the plans and programs, contact the appropriate benefit partner. 

OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (OHRM)

OFFICE OF FINANCE