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Health Life For Seniors

What Is Medicare?

Medicare is a government health insurance program to benefit senior citizens and people with certain medical conditions. The program helps pay for necessary medical expenses that may not otherwise be affordable.

The Different Parts Of Medicare

There are 4 parts to Medicare that help people with their medical expenses:

Part A

Medicare Part A covers medically necessary hospital visits lasting more than 72 hours. In some situations, it will also pay for temporary nursing home stays. For Part A to cover nursing home stays the care must be "skilled care," - which means it has to help improve a patient's health. Non-skilled care, including help with daily living activities, is not covered.

Nursing home stays will only be covered under Part A if the condition is discovered during the hospital stay or is related to the original hospital stay.

Part B

Medicare Part B covers some of the out-patient expenses that Part A does not cover. Examples of out-patient expenses are doctor and nurse services, x-rays, lab and diagnostic tests, vaccinations, and blood transfusions. Medical equipment such as wheelchairs and walkers can be covered as well. But only expenses that are medically necessary can be covered under Part B.

Part C

Medicare Part C allows medical coverage to come from private health insurance plans, rather than through the government. Private health insurance companies refer to Part C of Medicare as Medicare Advantage.

Part D

Medicare Part D is the unofficial name of the prescription drug programs offered by private insurance companies.

Medicare gets its funding from U.S. employers and workers through the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and the Self-Employment Contributions Act. Both employers and workers pay 1.45% of their income to Medicare to keep the program funded.

Medicare Part A and Part B are provided through the Federal government. If you need to find a Part C or Part D plan get free quotes, and we'll help you choose the right plan.