Medicare

Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over, or who meet other special criteria. Medicare operates as a single-payer health care system.

Medicare Part A – helps cover inpatient care in hospitals. This includes critical access hospitals and inpatient rehabilitation facilities. It also helps cover hospice care and home health care, and skilled nursing facilities (not custodial or long-term care). You must meet certain conditions to get these benefits

Medicare Part B – helps cover medically-necessary services like doctors’ services,outpatient care, and other medical services. Part B also covers some preventive services. These include a one-time “Welcome to Medicare” physical exam, bone mass measurements, flu and pneumococcal shots, cardiovascular screenings, cancer screenings, diabetes screenings, and more.

Medicare Advantage (Part C) – health plan options that are approved by Medicare and run by private companies. They provide all your Part A and Part B-covered services. Medicare Advantage Plans may offer extra coverage and most include Medicare prescription drug coverage (usually for an extra cost). You may need a referral to see a specialist. In some plans, you can only see doctors who belong to the plan or go to certain hospitals to get covered services.

Medicare Part D – coverage may help you lower your prescription drug costs and help you protect against higher costs in the future. It can give you greater access to drugs that you can use to prevent complications of diseases and stay well. To get Medicare drug coverage, you must join a plan run by an insurance company or other private company approved by Medicare.

Medicare Links