Once you turn 65, you're eligible for Medicare. But all the
options associated with it can be confusing. Here's some orientation...
Medicare is a federal program run by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). To be eligible, you must have worked so many years paying taxes.
*Two essential parts of Medicare that everyone gets are:
Part A - Hospital Insurance - free if you worked enough
Part B - Medical Insurance.
Part A pays for hospital coverage, but comes with various deductibles and out of pocket expenses. There's an initial deductible of about $1,216 for the first 60 hospital days. Additional hospital days (from 61 to 90) cost about $304 per day. After that you pay about $608 per day
Part B is your doctor coverage. You pay monthly premiums for this - usually out of your Social Security check. It has an annual deductible of about $147 and you're responsible for 20% of your doctor and outpatient costs.
There's now a Part D for help paying for Prescription Drugs. But, to receive this coverage you must choose and enroll into a Part D prescription drug plan from a private insurance carrier. Depending on the carrier, there's a monthly premium as well as deductible and co-pays for these prescriptions.
*More Coverage - Part C Plans:
Neither Part A nor B pays for all of a covered person's medical costs due to deductibles and coinsurance. That means more out-of-pocket expenses. To handle these you have two main options. You can either choose:
1) the traditional "original" Medicare plan, or
2) one of many federally subsidized Medicare Advantage Plan.
Many who choose the traditional Medicare plan purchase a "Medigap" policy to patch some of the holes in their Part A and Part B coverage. And then they choose a separate prescription drug policy (Part D) to help cover the prescription costs.
Choosing a Medicare Advantage Plan gives you the option of receiving Medicare benefits through a private health plan. Often, Medicare Advantage Plans will save you money while increasing your coverage. That's their benefit.
Medicare Advantage Plans can reduce the part B co-insurance and annual deductible to $0 and can offer dental, vision, and other coverage and service not covered by Parts A or B. Some include Part D prescription drug benefits, and are known as Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans, or MAPD's. Unlike traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage Plans encourage preventative care and wellness.
However, not all Medicare Advantage Plans work the same way; so it's important to find out the rules before joining. Also, these Plans are divided into HMOs and PPOs; HMOs provide networks that you must visit where PPOs give the flexibility to visit out of network providers at a higher cost.
Source Medicare is a federal program run by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). To be eligible, you must have worked so many years paying taxes.
*Two essential parts of Medicare that everyone gets are:
Part A - Hospital Insurance - free if you worked enough
Part B - Medical Insurance.
Part A pays for hospital coverage, but comes with various deductibles and out of pocket expenses. There's an initial deductible of about $1,216 for the first 60 hospital days. Additional hospital days (from 61 to 90) cost about $304 per day. After that you pay about $608 per day
Part B is your doctor coverage. You pay monthly premiums for this - usually out of your Social Security check. It has an annual deductible of about $147 and you're responsible for 20% of your doctor and outpatient costs.
There's now a Part D for help paying for Prescription Drugs. But, to receive this coverage you must choose and enroll into a Part D prescription drug plan from a private insurance carrier. Depending on the carrier, there's a monthly premium as well as deductible and co-pays for these prescriptions.
*More Coverage - Part C Plans:
Neither Part A nor B pays for all of a covered person's medical costs due to deductibles and coinsurance. That means more out-of-pocket expenses. To handle these you have two main options. You can either choose:
1) the traditional "original" Medicare plan, or
2) one of many federally subsidized Medicare Advantage Plan.
Many who choose the traditional Medicare plan purchase a "Medigap" policy to patch some of the holes in their Part A and Part B coverage. And then they choose a separate prescription drug policy (Part D) to help cover the prescription costs.
Choosing a Medicare Advantage Plan gives you the option of receiving Medicare benefits through a private health plan. Often, Medicare Advantage Plans will save you money while increasing your coverage. That's their benefit.
Medicare Advantage Plans can reduce the part B co-insurance and annual deductible to $0 and can offer dental, vision, and other coverage and service not covered by Parts A or B. Some include Part D prescription drug benefits, and are known as Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans, or MAPD's. Unlike traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage Plans encourage preventative care and wellness.
However, not all Medicare Advantage Plans work the same way; so it's important to find out the rules before joining. Also, these Plans are divided into HMOs and PPOs; HMOs provide networks that you must visit where PPOs give the flexibility to visit out of network providers at a higher cost.
