I’m not personally a federal retiree, but, what you describe is pretty common. Quite a few retiree health care plans only cover the retiree in full until they reach the eligible age for MediCare. Once that happens, MediCare becomes the primary coverage and the private insurance is only good as secondary coverage.
And in many cases, the private coverage is dropped entirely once Medicare takes over, unless you specifically pay extra out of your own pocket to keep it. Sometimes secondary private insurance is covered by the retiree’s retirement plan, but not always.
You’ll have to figure out what exactly is covered by your wife’s retirement, which will probably mean sitting down with someone at OPM. And not just any someone, but someone at OPM that’s actually well versed in their job. The folks at Medicare should know what they’ll cover, but they probably won’t know what your wife’s retirement will pay for.
