Medicare
MEDICARE
MAKING AN INFORMED DECISION
If you’re new to Medicare, you may want to determine which type of Medicare insurance plan will fit your healthcare and financial needs.
It’s also important to decide if you need prescription drug coverage.
Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) is another way you can get your Original Medicare, Part A and Part B coverage.
Most Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drug coverage.
Types of Medicare Advantage plans include (but aren’t limited to) Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) plans, Special Needs Plans (SNPs), and Medical Savings Account (MSA) plans.
Medicare Advantage plans may have lower costs than Original Medicare and may provide additional benefits; details vary among insurance companies and individual plans.
Medicare Supplement (Medigap)
While Original Medicare covers many health services, it doesn’t cover everything. You’ll still have to pay deductibles, co-payments, and coinsurance.
Medicare Supplement (also called Medigap) plans help fill the “gaps” in coverage by paying for some of the costs that Original Medicare doesn’t cover.
To enroll in a Medigap plan, you must be enrolled in Original Medicare, Part A and Part B, and live in the service area of the Medigap plan you want to join.
Medicare Supplement plans only work with Original Medicare. If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, a Medigap plan can’t be used to pay for Medicare Advantage costs.
Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage
The Medicare Part D program provides prescription drug coverage.
You can sign up for a stand-alone Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan to work alongside your Original Medicare coverage, or you can get it through a Medicare Advantage plan.
Make sure the plan you choose covers your specific medications.
Most beneficiaries have to pay a premium for Medicare Part D, along with other costs such as co-payments and coinsurance.
If you don’t enroll when you’re first eligible for Medicare, you could face a late enrollment penalty if you decide you want this coverage later.
