You’ve helped serve Harris County, and upon retirement many of your benefits will continue to serve you. Along with your annual Retiree Benefits Guide, use this page as a resource for retiree information and to find featured events.
Retiree Medical Plan Options
Harris County retiree medical plans now have three options available: Aetna Base PPO, Aetna Plus PPO and Humana Medicare Advantage PPO.
Your Medicare eligibility as a retiree or covered spouse determines which plan options are available for you. You may enroll in separate plans based upon your Medicare eligibility.
Non-Medicare-Eligible Retiree, Spouse and/or Covered Children
- Aetna Base PPO Plan
- Aetna Plus PPO Plan
Medical-Eligible retiree and/or Spouse
- Aetna Base PPO Plan
- Aetna Plus PPO Plan
- Humana Medicare Advantage PPO Plan
Plans Overview
Aetna Base & Plus PPO Plans:
Coordinates benefits with Medicare Parts A & B. Since Medicare is the primary insurance, it must pay benefits first before the Base or Plus PPO plan will pay benefits. The plan will pay benefits as if Medicare Part B paid first even if you are not enrolled in Medicare Part B. This will cause a gap in your coverage if you do not enroll in Medicare Part B as a retiree.
Humana Medicare Advantage PPO & Prescription Drug Plan:
A Medicare Advantage plan pays in place of Medicare. The Humana Medicare Advantage plan covers all that Original Medicare covers plus additional benefits customized by Harris County in addition to prescription drugs. You are required to enroll in Medicare Parts A & B to be eligible.
Find complete details and premium costs in your Retiree Benefits Guide.
Enroll In Medicare
Medicare becomes the primary insurer when a retiree, or a dependent of a retiree, turns 65 or becomes eligible due to disability. To be eligible for Harris County retiree health insurance, Medicare-eligible retirees and their Medicare-eligible spouses must enroll in Medicare Parts A and B. Medical benefits then become secondary to Medicare.
See the “Turning 65?” section in your Retiree Benefits Guide for guidance on enrolling in Medicare.
SilverScript Employer Prescription Drug Plan (PDP)
SilverScript combines a standard Medicare Part D prescription drug plan with additional coverage provided by Harris County to close the gaps between the standard Part D plan and your current coverage. This means that you will have more coverage than the standard Medicare Part D plan.
If you are enrolled in the Harris County Base Plan or Plus Plan for medical coverage, effective February 1, 2026, the SilverScript Medicare Part D plan will automatically replace your current CVS Caremark pharmacy benefits. You may receive a letter from CVS Caremark telling you that your current prescription drug coverage is being terminated or that you are being “disenrolled” from that plan. There will be no interruption in your prescription drug coverage.
PLEASE READ: If you are enrolled in other plans outside of Harris County
If you are currently enrolled in a different Medicare prescription drug plan, a Medicare Advantage (MA) HMO or PPO plan (Part C) or Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan (MAPD) that is NOT provided by Harris County, enrolling in SilverScript will cancel your enrollment in the other plan.
Please consider your options:
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- Do nothing. You will be enrolled in Harris County’s SilverScript plan and be disenrolled from your other Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare prescription drug plan.
- Opt out of Harris County’s SilverScript plan by the date listed in your letter. Please make sure you have creditable prescription drug coverage or you will be at risk of the Part D Late Enrollment Penalty from CMS.
If you have a Medicare Advantage only plan (with no prescription drug coverage) and choose to opt-out of Harris County’s SilverScript plan, you will need to switch to a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD) plan during the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MAOEP), Jan. 1-March 31, to ensure you have a prescription drug plan that provides creditable coverage. Please contact your individual MA plan’s carrier for your options.
Recorded Webinar:
December 18, 1:00 – 2:00 PM
If you attended or watched the December 10 and 17 webinars please refer to the December 18 webinar for the most accurate information regarding SilverScript.
FAQ's
Aetna Medicare Rx offered by SilverScript Employer PDP sponsored by Harris County (SilverScript) is a group Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. SilverScript® Insurance Company, affiliated with CVS Caremark®, has a contract with Medicare, and administers the plan.
To be eligible for SilverScript, you must:
- Be eligible for Medicare Part A and/or enrolled in Medicare Part B;
- Live in the SilverScript service area which is the United States and its territories, or live temporarily outside the service area for no more than 12 months;
- Meet and maintain the Harris County’s eligibility requirements for the plan.
Medicare Part D is Medicare prescription drug coverage that helps to cover the cost of prescription drugs for anyone who is eligible for Medicare Part A and/or enrolled in Medicare Part B. It is provided through private insurance companies, plans, or retiree plans, like the sponsored plan by Harris County.
To qualify for a Medicare Part D plan, you must
- Be eligible for Medicare Part A and/or enrolled in Medicare Part B, and
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States, and
- Live in the plan’s service area which is the United States and its territories.
The service area for this plan is the United States and the U.S. territories, the full area allowed by Medicare. If you live outside this service area, you are not eligible for Medicare Part D and cannot be enrolled in this plan.
Harris County is focused on maintaining comprehensive benefits for its retirees while minimizing premium increases. Moving to this plan, also referred to as an Employer Group Waiver Plan (EGWP), means the County’s health insurance plan will receive significantly higher federal subsidies, directly saving the plan more than $9 million annually and lowering the County’s unfunded liability by approximately 12%. The current liability to fund retiree healthcare is $3.9 billion, and this move is projected to reduce that liability by over $400 million.
Reducing our unfunded liability ensures Harris County retirees, both current and future, can access their earned benefits throughout the entire course of their life. An EGWP allows the County to keep existing pharmacy benefits intact for Medicare-eligible retirees and their eligible dependents while increasing federal reimbursement, thus reducing the County’s direct costs for these benefits in the long-term.
Due to how a group Medicare Part D plan is funded by the federal government, manufacturer co-pay cards and manufacturer-driven programs (e.g., PrudentRx) are not legally allowed to be used with it. While this may increase costs for some retirees, moving to this plan will allow the County the financial flexibility to keep providing competitive benefits for future years. Additionally, Medicare Part D includes a $2,100 maximum out-of-pocket (MOOP) which accumulates using 25% of the total drug cost; this means Harris County members will likely reach the $2,100 MOOP much quicker than expected, at which point your eligible drug costs will be $0 for the remainder of the year.
You may choose to use either the coupon or your Part D plan for a specific prescription, depending on which results in a lower out-of-pocket cost. Remember, using a coupon means that spending does not count toward your Part D plan’s out-of-pocket maximum of $2,100.
Retiree Wellness
Become a healthier you with these programs, services and incentives for retirees:
Get Active
- Employee 5k
- Fitness classes and challenges
- Gym discounts
Stay Well
- Onsite health services
- Access to Therapy
- Weight management
Be Informed
- Health education classes
- Awareness campaigns
Register for an upcoming wellness webinar
You can also get information on wellness services by emailing wellness@harriscountytx.gov or calling 713-274-5500.
Retirees can earn healthy actions incentives by reporting their actions on the Navigate Wellbeing portal.
*Not available for Retirees covered on the Humana Medicare Advantage plan.
Life Insurance
Check Your Beneficiaries
To help protect your family in the event of your death, the County currently provides a Life Insurance benefit of $15,000 through BlueCross BlueShield of Texas to eligible retirees at no cost.
Please keep your beneficiaries updated. If you are not sure who you have designated as your Life Insurance beneficiary, please call the Benefits & Wellness Office at 713-274-5500 or email benefits@harriscountytx.gov to request the form. Note that your beneficiary with TCDRS will not apply to your Harris County life insurance policy.