Medicare Overview

Medicare is a federal health plan. It was started in 1965 and first made available to people age 65 and over. It was then expanded to include people with certain disabilities and End-Stage Renal Disease/kidney failure.

Medicare is broken up into parts that cover various types of care and services:

Part A (Original Medicare) covers hospital care and services.

Part B (Original Medicare) covers medical care and services, including preventive care.

Part D provides coverage for prescription drugs.

Part C is called Medicare Advantage. These plans combine Part A, Part B, Part D and additional benefits for vision, dental, and hearing.

Medigap also known as Medicare Supplement insurance policies helps cover some of the costs that Original Medicare doesn’t.

RESOURCES; medicare.gov, ssa.gov, cms.gov