Welcome to Medicare 101

Medicare is a public health insurance program for people 65 and older or those with certain disabilities or diseases. It is run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an entity within the federal government. You can generally choose from among several types of Medicare…see below.

There are four different parts of the Medicare program (Parts A, B, C and D), each designed to cover a different aspect of your healthcare needs:

Original Medicare provides coverage for hospital and doctor visits (see Parts A and B above), but doesn’t include coverage for extras such as prescriptions and dental.

Medicare Advantage (see Part C above) includes the same coverages offered under Medicare Parts A and B and will often have prescription drug coverage (Part D), plus dental, vision, hearing and other supplemental benefits. Medicare Advantage plans may offer more comprehensive coverage at a lower cost than a Medicare Supplement (MediGap) plan.

Medicare Supplement (MediGap) provides more coverage for hospital and doctor visits than Original Medicare (Parts A and B above), but it generally has a higher monthly premium. It doesn’t include coverage for prescriptions, dental, vision and hearing.

For most people, 65 is the magic number. You are eligible to join Medicare up to three months before your 65th birthday month and within three months after your birthday month. In fact, you must enroll in Original Medicare (Parts A or B) within that seven-month window unless you are covered by an employer’s health plan—or you may be subject to penalties from the government. Once you enroll and start paying Part B premiums, you can enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C), like one from our plan!

Lots of people work past age 65, and you can generally delay enrolling in Medicare until after you retire.

• If you (or your spouse) are covered through a qualified health insurance plan from your employer—and if you want to keep that coverage—you can choose to delay signing up for Parts A and B.
• Once you stop working (or lose or cancel your employer’s health insurance), you have an eight-month Special Enrollment Period (SEP) during which you can sign up for Medicare (or add Part B to existing Part A coverage), including a Medicare Advantage plan through Baylor Scott & White Health Plan.