| Consumers Introduction To Understanding Your Medicare Coverage And Costs |
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| Written by Derrick Johnson |
| Monday, 06 September 2010 15:03 |
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A major rite of passage for Americans reaching 65 years of age is enrolling in Medicare. Medicare is a government operated health insurance program. It is 45 years old and seems to get more complex every year. Here is some information that should help you in understanding your Medicare coverage.
A major rite of passage for Americans reaching 65 years of age is enrolling in Medicare. Medicare is a government operated health insurance program. It is 45 years old and seems to get more complex every year. Here is some information that should help you in understanding your Medicare coverage. Medicare consists of several parts, each of which has quite different rules. In some ways they are independent of each other, in other ways they are not. Following is a survey of the parts. Please be aware that specific dollar amounts are for either 2009 or 2010. Medicare Part A covers hospitalization. It covers all but $1,068 of the first 60 days of hospitalization. It pays a declining portion of the costs for the next 90 days, and nothing after that. It will cover part of the costs for stays in a skilled nursing facility, under fairly strict conditions. People who have worked at least 10 years on jobs covered by Social Security do not have to pay for Part A. Others $254 or $461 per month, depending on their years of Social Security coverage. Part B is medical insurance that pays for most expenses other than those related to hospital stays and most medications. Mobility scooters and breast prostheses for use after a mastectomy, and other medical equipment may be covered. Individuals with less than $85,000 or married couples with less than $170,000 of annual income pay $96.40 per month for Part B. Those with more income pay between $134.90 and $308.30 per month on a sliding scale. Medicare Part C is also referred to as Medicare Advantage. This part is optional. It integrates the other parts of Medicare with coverage provided by private health insurance companies. It is difficult to summarize because this is done in many different ways with many different cost structures. Many people who already have health plans that they like have chosen Medicare Advantage so that they can gain the financial advantages of Medicare with minimal changes to their health plans. Optional Part D also has a lot of variability in coverage and cost. It consists of prescription drug plans created by private insurance providers. Part D can be a part of a Medicare Advantage Plan. Medicare Supplement Plans are not actually part of Medicare. Commonly called Medigap Plans, they are private insurance that pays for some things that Medicare does not. They can cover both Part A and Part B, but new ones cannot cover Part D. They cannot be combined with Medicare Advantage. That's an introduction to the complexities of Medicare. This is just a start. Understanding your Medicare coverage is an ambitions project in many cases. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Do you have questions about the latest medigap and Medicare Benefits? Well, if you do, you should check into the information we have to give you. You can get Medicare Supplement easy and fast like you should with us. |