Medicare Facts

Medicare is the federal health insurance program for:

• People who are 65 or older
• Certain younger people with disabilities (see post on SSDI)
• People with End-Stage Renal Disease

See Medicare.gov for current and complete information.

PART A is Hospital Insurance, and is administered by the government.

PART B is Medical Insurance, and is administered by the government. It is important to note that if you do not sign up for a Part B plan when first eligible, there may be a lifetime premium penalty added to the cost of this required coverage

*Original Medicare refers to Part A and Part B together.

PART C is known as Medicare Advantage, plans administered by private companies that replace Medicare Parts A and B, and usually Part D (Rx coverage). In the case of these plans, Medicare pays private companies to administer individual Medicare program benefits. The companies then market their various plans to Medicare-eligible individuals.

PART D is Prescription Drug Coverage. Medicare Part D drug coverage comes from private insurance companies, with Medicare paying a portion of the costs. 70% of people on Medicare have a Part D plan. You need to sign up as soon as you’re eligible—if you don’t, you may have to pay a late enrollment penalty later when you do enroll. Be sure the drugs you need are on the Part D plan you select or you could face thousands of dollars in out of pocket costs.