What You Should Know about Medicare Coverage

Original Medicare, which includes Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B, provides a number of benefits.

Learn more about your coverage options below.

Medicare Part A and Part B Benefits

Original Medicare is the federal health care program that provides health care insurance for people age 65 or older and younger people with certain disabilities or with end-stage renal disease.

Original Medicare consists of two parts: Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B.

Medicare Part A covers:

• Hospital care
• Home health services
• Nursing home care
• Skilled nursing family care
• Hospice care

Medicare Part B covers:

• Services (doctor's visits, surgeries, lab tests) and supplies needed to diagnose or treat an illness or condition that meet accepted standards of medical practice
• Services to prevent or detect an illness or a condition at an early stage

Note: Although Original Medicare provides comprehensive health care coverage, it does leave some out-of-pocket expenses to beneficiaries including:

• Deductibles
• Copayments
• Coinsurance
• First three pints of blood
• Excess charges

Medicare Supplement Insurance

Medigap, also called Medicare Supplement Insurance, helps cover some of the out-of-pocket costs that are associated with Original Medicare.

There are 10 standardized Medigap plans that are sold in most states by private insurers licensed to do so. Availability and cost can vary by state.

All Medigap plans must offer coverage for your:

• Medicare Part A coinsurance for hospital care
• Medicare Part A coinsurance or copayment for hospice care
• Medicare Part B coinsurance or copayment
• First three pints of blood

You can then select a Medigap plan with the benefits that meets your needs, if you desire.

Insurance companies authorized to sell Medigap policies aren’t required to offer every option, but every insurer that sells them must offer Medigap Plan A and either Plan C or Plan F.

Call 1-888-642-0148 today to chat with a licensed insurance agent about the right Medigap plan option for your unique health care needs.

Enrolling in Medicare

If you're already receiving Social Security or railroad retirement benefits when you turn 65, you'll be automatically enrolled in Part A and Part B. If you are younger than 65, you'll be automatically enrolled after you 24th month of disability benefits.

If you're still working, the best time to enroll in Medicare is during your Medicare Initial Enrollment Period. Your Medicare Initial Enrollment Period goes into effect three months before you turn 65. You have a seven-month period to sign up.

If you don’t sign up during your Initial Enrollment Period, you can enroll during the General Enrollment Period, which runs from January 1 to March 31 each year. If you enroll during general enrollment, coverage doesn't begin until July 1.

If you’ve turned 65 and are already receiving Social Security benefits, or have applied for them, the Social Security Administration will notify you that you're automatically being enrolled. Otherwise, you can enroll by:

• Applying on the Social Security website

• Visiting your local Social Security office

• Calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY: 1-800-325-0778)

• Calling the Railroad Retirement Board at 1-877-772-5772

• Completing an Application for Enrollment in Part B (CMS-40B)

Call 1-800-995-4219 to chat with a licensed agent, or read through our guide, What Does Original Medicare Cover? to learn more.