Medicare comes in four parts: A, B, C, and D. All of these parts have a variety of benefits for you. Call us today for help finding the right plan for you.
Transcript
Trying to understand Medicare? Here’s what you need to know to get started.
With Medicare comes choices. You get to start making those choices when you near the age of 65, or when you decide to retire after your 65th birthday, or no longer get health insurance from your employer, in addition to a few other reasons.
You also have choices to make on your Medicare coverage options. All these choices can seem a bit overwhelming, so we’re going to break it down for you to show you that Medicare is as easy as A, B, C, and D.
Medicare has four parts: A, B, C, and D. Part A is for hospital coverage. Part B is for when you see the doctor, like for routine wellness exams, tests, and screenings. Original Medicare is made up of parts A and B, and it only covers about 80% of your medical bills. You are responsible for the remaining 20%. Part B is optional. If you don’t sign up for Part B. If you don’t sign up for Part B when you first enroll, you may pay a permanent late enrollment penalty unless you have a special enrollment event. So, be careful making your choices.
Parts C and D are also optional. Part C, also called Medicare Advantage, combines A and B coverage, plus extras such as prescription coverage, vision, or dental, and other benefits, depending on the plan you choose.
Medicare Part C and Part D are important options that can help you pay some costs not covered by Original Medicare. Part D is prescription drug coverage. With Part D, you’ll likely pay less for your prescriptions. It’s often just a small co-pay or co-insurance for your drug. Most Medicare Advantage Part C plans include prescription drug coverage. You can purchase Part D separately under Original Medicare (A and B), or under a Medicare supplement policy.
Medicare supplement policy is another type of Medicare coverage you can buy outside of Parts A, B, C, and D. It can be purchased separately and also covers costs not included in A or B.
So, there you have it. Those are the basics of Medicare. See? It’s not as complicated as you thought.