Start with Medicare Basics
Know how Medicare works, then choose what works for you
Original Medicare is provided by the federal government. It offers coverage for:
🏥Hospital stays and inpatient care. This is called Part A.
👨⚕️Doctor Visits. This is called Part B- you pay a monthly premium for it.
Original Medicare does NOT include prescription drug coverage
💊Prescription drug coverage: This is called Part D and is not included with Original Medicare. You are not required to enroll in a Part D when you first become eligible for Medicare. If you enroll in a Part D plan in the future, then you will pay a penalty equal to about 1% of the average monthly premiu, for each month you delayed enrollment. This must be paid monthly as long as you are enrolled in Part D.
Depending on your needs, you may want to add more coverage to Original Medicare
Option 1: Enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan
⚕️Also called part C
They combine Part A and Part B. most Medicare Advantage plan also include Part D, so your hospital, medical, and prescription drug insurance is all in one plan
🔍Extras
Some plans may include extra benefits not includeed with Original Medicare. For example: Dental, vision, and hearing coverages.
Option 2: Add one or both of these to Original Medicare
☂️ Medicare Supplement
Helps pay for some of the costs not covered by Original Medicare.
💊Medicare Part D Plan
Helps pay for prescription drugs and helps you avoid that 1% penalty
Original Medicare Cost Share Information
Since Original Medicare does not cover 100% of the cost of the covered services, it is pivotal to either enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan or a Medicare Supplement plan to get full coverage. Note that some services are not covered under Original Medicare, for example: Dental, vision, and wellness are not covered.
