Retiree Health Overview

Healthy At Any Age

Stanford offers only medical and dental coverage in retirement. Your university contribution toward the cost of your benefits will be based on when you meet the age and service requirements for retirement (see Eligibility).

Medicare Advantage Plans

Stanford offers a variety of Medicare Advantage plans that work hand-in-hand with your Medicare benefits. You assign your Medicare benefits to the Medicare Advantage HMO you select, and the HMO coordinates with Medicare. There are no claim forms to fill out and your only out-of-pocket costs are your copayments.

Remember: Be sure to complete a Medicare Advantage Enrollment form when you enroll in one of these plans. Forms are available by calling Stanford Benefits.

How These Plans Work

Medicare Advantage plans work the same as your active employee HMO. Except for Kaiser, you select a Primary Care Physician (PCP) from your plan's network of doctors to coordinate all your care. With Kaiser, all care must be within a Kaiser facility. And for all HMOs, you receive no benefits if you go outside your network, unless you have an emergency.

Medicare Supplement Plans

Under a Stanford Medicare Supplement plan, Medicare is the primary medical plan for you and your dependents. You can go to any provider; however, you will have lower costs if you use a provider who accepts Medicare assignment. The Medicare Supplement plan pays benefits after you receive payment from Medicare.

Remember: If you choose to go outside your supplement plan's network of doctors, your benefits will be limited to services covered under Medicare only and must be provided by a doctor who accepts Medicare assignments.

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