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Medicare

Enrollment date: October 15 - December 7

• LEARN ABOUT YOUR MEDICARE

What Is Medicare And What Does It Cover?

Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, or those under 65 who may qualify because of a disability or another special situation. Medicare helps millions of American seniors and disabled individuals cover some of their health care costs.

Medicare also offers important choices in how you receive benefits – whether through Original Medicare or through a Medicare-approved private insurer that offers prescription drug coverage and additional benefits like vision, hearing, dental, and more.

The different parts of Medicare help cover the costs of specific services.

Original Medicare

Medicare Parts A & B, often called Original Medicare, are the two parts of the federal health insurance program for people 65 years of age or older. This health insurance program is also available to younger people who qualify based on specific, existing health conditions.

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Medicare Part A

Medicare Part A is hospital insurance that covers certain expenses incurred during an inpatient hospital stay. This includes things like your room fees, meals, operating room, and rehabilitation services as well as lab tests and X-rays. Medicare Part A also covers necessary medical supplies and drugs that are administered during your hospital stay.

Medicare Part B

Medicare Part B covers medically necessary outpatient services such as routine doctor visits, many emergency medical services, outpatient mental health services and some preventive care measures, such as flu shots. Medicare Part B also covers the equipment and tests administered during these outpatient services. Like Medicare Part A, Medicare Part B covers some medication administered during your visit but not drugs you are prescribed to take after the visit is complete.

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Medicare Advantage (Part C) Plans

Medicare Advantage plans, also known as Medicare Part C, combine Original Medicare (Parts A & B) into one plan and include additional benefits. Instead of receiving the Part A & B benefits through Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans are offered through Medicare-approved private insurers, like UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Careplus.

Medicare Advantage plans are required to offer all the benefits included in Original Medicare (except hospice care which continues to be covered by Part A). These plans combine coverage for hospital (Part A) and doctor (Part B) visits all in one plan. Many Medicare Advantage plans also include prescription drug coverage (Part D). You may also find plans that offer additional benefits like routine eye and dental care coverage not offered by Original Medicare.

What Are Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans (Medigap)

While Original Medicare (Parts A and B) provides good health coverage, it doesn’t pay for everything. Medicare Supplement insurance (sometimes referred to as “Medigap”) works with Original Medicare to pay some of the out-of-pocket costs that Parts A and B alone do not.

Medicare Prescription Drug (Part D) Plans

Original Medicare usually only covers drugs administered during hospital or doctor visits. If you take regular medications, you may want to consider a Medicare Prescription Drug (Part D) plan. There are two ways to have Part D coverage:

You can enroll in a standalone Part D plan, also known as a PDP plan. You can have a PDP plan in addition to Original Medicare, a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan, or a Medicare Advantage Private Fee-For-Service plan (that does not have drug coverage).

You can enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan that includes Part D coverage.