Medicare

Parts of Medicare

Part A (Hospital Insurance): Helps cover inpatient care in hospitals, skilled nursing facility care, hospice care, and home health care.

Part B (Medical Insurance): Helps cover:

• Services from doctors and other health care providers
• Outpatient care
• Home health care
• Durable medical equipment (like wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, and other equipment)
• Many preventive services (like screenings, shots or vaccines, and yearly “Wellness” visits)

Part D (Drug coverage): Helps cover the cost of prescription drugs (including many recommended shots or vaccines). You join a Medicare drug plan in addition to Original Medicare, or you get it by joining a Medicare Advantage Plan with drug coverage. Plans that offer Medicare drug coverage are run by private insurance companies that follow rules set by Medicare.

Your Medicare options

When you first sign up for Medicare and during certain times of the year, you can choose which way to get your Medicare coverage. There are 2 main ways:

Option 1 – Original Medicare

• Original Medicare includes Part A and Part B.
• You can join a separate Medicare drug plan to get Medicare drug coverage (Part D).
• You can use any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare, anywhere in the U.S.
• To help pay your out-of-pocket costs in Original Medicare (like your 20% coinsurance), you can also buy supplemental coverage, like Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap), or have coverage from a former employer or union, or Medicaid.

Option 2 – Medicare Advantage (also known as Part C)

• Medicare Advantage is a Medicare-approved plan from a private company that offers an alternative to Original Medicare for your health and drug coverage. These “bundled” plans include Part A, Part B, and usually Part D.
• In most cases, you’ll need to use doctors who are in the plan’s network.
• Plans may have lower out-of-pocket costs than Original Medicare.
• Plans may offer some extra benefits that Original Medicare doesn’t cover — like vision, hearing, and dental services.

The above came from www.Medicare.gov

You must apply for both Medicare Part A and Part B before you can add a Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare Supplement plan.

The link to enroll in Medicare Part A and Part B is below. It takes about three weeks for your application to be processed by the Social Security Administration. Contact me if you have any questions before you apply. You can apply for Medicare coverage as early as three calendar months before you want your coverage to begin. Coverage can start as early as the 1^st day of your 65^th Birthday month.

No matter what option you select you will still need to pay the Federal government (SSA/Medicare) the Part B monthly premium. Insurance Carrier plans do not include the Part B premium paid to SSA in their monthly premiums.

Marketplace Options

Please contact me for an educational discussion regarding Medicare Supplement, Part D Rx and Medicare Advantage plans. There is no cost to work with an Insurance Broker. 

We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.