Get started with Medicare
Medicare is health insurance for people 65 or older. You’re first eligible to sign up for Medicare 3 months before you turn 65. You also may be eligible to get Medicare earlier if you have a disability, End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), or ALS (also called Lou Gehrig’s disease).
Medicare helps cover many – but not all – medical costs for eligible, enrolled individuals. Millions of Americans have chosen to get additional coverage by enrolling in Medigap (Medicare supplement) or Medicare Advantage health plans. Read on to learn more about the different parts of Medicare!
Parts of Medicare
- Part A (Hospital Insurance): Helps cover inpatient care in hospitals, skilled nursing facility care, hospice care, and home health care.
- Part B (Medical Insurance): Helps cover:
- Services from doctors and other health care providers
- Outpatient care
- Home health care
- Durable medical equipment (like wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, and other equipment)
- Many preventive services (like screenings, shots or vaccines, and yearly “Wellness” visits)
- Part C (Medicare Advantage):
- A Medicare-approved plan from a private company that offers an alternative to Original Medicare for your health and drug coverage. These “bundled” plans include Part A, Part B, and usually Part D.
- In most cases, you’ll need to use doctors who are in the plan’s network.
- Plans may have lower out-of-pocket costs than Original Medicare.
- Plans may offer some extra benefits that Original Medicare doesn’t cover — like vision, hearing, and dental services.
- Part D (Drug coverage): Helps cover the cost of prescription drugs (including many recommended shots or vaccines). You join a Medicare drug plan in addition to Original Medicare, or you get it by joining a Medicare Advantage Plan with drug coverage. Plans that offer Medicare drug coverage are run by private insurance companies that follow rules set by Medicare.
- Medicare Supplemental Insurance (Medigap): Extra insurance you can buy from a private company that helps pay your share of costs in Original Medicare. Policies are standardized, and in most states named by letters, like Plan G or Plan K. The benefits in each lettered plan are the same, no matter which insurance company sells it.
How do I enroll?
How you enroll may depend on your source of benefits. Many people get benefits from Social Security, the Railroad Retirement Board or the Office of Personnel Management.
If you’re getting benefits from Social Security or plan to apply for Medicare only without yet getting Social Security benefits, consider browsing the Social Security Administration’s Medicare Benefits and Enrollment web site.
Other Common Questions
What help can a local, licensed agent offer?
Medicare plans can be confusing! Local agents at Senior Americans Health Insurance Service Center can help walk you through Medicare basics. We also specialize in helping our clients understand and then enroll in Medigap and Medicare Advantage health plans that match their needs and budget.
Contact us to find out more!
Important Disclosures
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency.