This is the first in the series of informational posts to help you understand the make-up of Medicare before you have to make your very important health care decisions.

Let’s begin.

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What is Medicare?

Medicare is our country’s health insurance program for people age 65 or older. Certain people younger than age 65 can qualify for Medicare, too, including those with disabilities and those who have permanent kidney failure.

The program helps with the cost of health care, but it does not cover all medical expenses or the cost of most long-term care.

This is very important that everyone understands. 

There are options you have available to help plan for this and help to mitigate for the costs that Medicare does not pay for (we will begin to introduce some of these options below).

You have choices for how you get Medicare coverage. If you choose to have Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) coverage, you can buy a Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policy from a private insurance company.

The Medicare Supplement Plans can help cover some of the costs that Medicare does not pay for.

Parts of Medicare

Social Security enrolls you in Original Medicare (Part A and Part B).  Here is a little more information about the parts of Medicare

• Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) helps pay for inpatient care in a hospital or limited time at a skilled nursing facility (following a hospital stay). Part A also pays some hospice care.

• Medicare Part B (medical insurance) helps pay for services from doctors and other health care providers, outpatient care, home health care, durable medical equipment, and some preventive services.

Other parts of Medicare are run by private insurance companies that follow rules set by Medicare.

• Supplemental (Medigap) policies help pay Medicare out-of-pocket copayment, coinsurance, and deductible expenses (we will include more in depth information on these later specifically on supplemental plans).

• Medicare Advantage Plan (also known as Part C) includes all benefits and services covered under Part A and Part B — prescription drugs and additional benefits such as vision, hearing, and dental — bundled together in one plan. 

Most Medicare Advantage Plans also contain Part D prescription drug coverage.  These plans are sold by private insurance companies (more information on these specifically in another post especially on Medicare Advantage Plans).

• Medicare Part D (Medicare prescription drug coverage) helps cover the cost of prescription drugs (more information on these specifically in another post specifically on Medicare prescription drug plans)

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You can watch my Short Power 5 video on the information below

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I hope you have found this introduction on Medicare helpful.  The purpose here is to help reveal some initial information while gradually providing more information so that you are able to feel more comfortable accessing your own individual needs.

On our next post we will cover some background on Medicaid.

If you have any questions in the meantime – drop me a line or give me a call – I’m here to help 🙂

Contact Me.