You may have two alternatives for your Medicare coverage -- depending on your HP/HPE retiree medical program:

1. Group Medicare policies are privately negotiated by HP or HPE and administered by the HP or HPE Benefits Center. Premiums reflect the cost of care across the HP or HPE retiree population, and are increasing. Group policies can be very different from similarly-named publicly-available individual policies purchased on the open market. May cover dependents or be better for those with pre-existing conditions or high medication costs. May have a broader network and service area, more comprehensive coverage, or different out-of-pocket costs and yearly limits. HP or HPE is the purchaser of the policy -- and can intervene on your behalf. Details and member advice: https://www.hpalumni.org/medicare-group

2. Individual, open-market Medicare policies are available through insurance sales agencies and directly from insurance companies. Policies vary on critical details -- such as network and service area, referrals and pre-approvals, out-of-pocket costs, and yearly limits. Premiums are based on the highly-competitive open market and across all customers of the insurer. HP and HPE have both selected a specific agency -- Alight Retiree Health Solutions -- to sell and administer policies that are subsidized by HP or HPE. (Note that ARHS is a separate company from Alight Benefits Administration, which operates the HP Benefits Center. The HPE Benefits Center is operated by Bswift/Aetna.) Details and member advice: https://www.hpalumni.org/medicare-open-market

If you decline HP/HPE medical coverage: Depending on your situation, you can lose the ability to re-enroll in HP/HPE coverage -- and your surviving dependents will not be eligible for HP/HPE coverage. Details:  https://www.hpalumni.org/reenroll-restrictions

You must carefully compare the alternatives yourself. The ARHS sales agency does not have info on the HP/HPE private group policies. Member advice on how to compare policies: https://www.hpalumni.org/health-compare

Group Medicare policies are negotiated by the company and administered by the company's Benefits Center and administered by the HP and HPE Benefits Centers. The HP Benefits Center is operated by Alight Benefits Administration; The HPE Benefits Center by Bswift/Aetna.

- You pay HP or HPE via their Benefits Center.

- Group plan features are customized for the specific employer. Premiums reflect the cost of care across the HP or HPE retiree population, and are rapidly increasing. May cover dependents or be better for those with pre-existing conditions or high medication costs. Group policies can be much more expensive -- but may have better features -- than similar individual plans purchased on the highly-competitive open market. (Why HP group plan costs are going up. hpalumni.org/health-cost )

- A group plan may be better for your specific situation: dependents (such as a spouse/partner), pre-existing conditions, or medications. While there are government specifications for open-market Medicare Advantage and Supplemental policies, employer plans do not have to match those specifications.

- Group plans and individual, open-market plans with similar names from the same carrier may have very different coverage features.

- The ARHS sales agency does not have info on the HP/HPE private group policies. Member advice on how to compare policies: hpalumni.org/health-compare

- To purchase a group plan, you work with the people at the HP or HPE Benefits Center.

- Under a group plan, if you have a problem with a carrier or HMO, you work through the Benefits Center. HP or HPE is a customer of your insurance carrier or HMO -- and can escalate issues.

You must carefully compare the alternatives yourself.

Medical Coverage Summaries. Details of the features, covered costs, and limitations for each current HP group plan. Not available online. To have the Pre-65 and/or Post-65 version sent by mail, go to https://www.myhpbenefits.com -- select "Health & Insurance" then "Request Materials." (It will also include plans that are not available to you due to your region or situation.)

You can compare benefits and costs for all open-market policies -- Advantage, Drug, and Medigap -- available in your ZIP code on the official Medicare site. Gives estimated cost -- and contact info -- for each policy. (Notes: No sales agency, including ARHS, offers all policies available in your area. The official Medicare comparison site does not have information on any group policies, such as HP/HPE, that you might be qualified for.) https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare  

Deadlines. The HP and HPE enrollment deadlines are much earlier than the Dec 7, 2023 national Medicare deadline to adjust your coverage for the next calendar year. (The national deadline does not apply if you have qualified life event during the year -- such as starting Medicare.)

If you won't be able to resolve your Medicare situation by the HP/HPE enrollment deadline -- for example, because you can't get an ARHS advisor appointment in time, or you have an application pending for an individual Medicare plan through ARHS -- HP and HPE recommend that you enroll in the best HP/HPE plan now and change later if necessary.

There is a confirmation and mop-up cycle after the stated HP/HPE deadline. However, members report that changes made too far after the original deadline may not be in place at your providers by January 1.

HPInc: "You must make corrections by December 16, 2022, at 6 p.m. Pacific Time (8 p.m. Central Time). After that date, you won’t be able to make changes for 2023 unless you experience a qualified status change and call the HP Benefits Center within 60 days."
--HP Enrollment Guides.

HPE: " If you need to correct your elections, notify the HPE Benefits Center before December 31, 2022."
--HPE Enrollment Guide

You can change back to an HP/HPE group plan from ARHS individual coverage, as indicated in your Annual Enrollment Guide.

Next step: 5b. Consider Open Market Plans  Premiums are based on the highly-competitive open market and across all customers of the insurer.