What is the Federal Medicare Program?
Medicare is a federal health insurance program for people ages 65 and older and people with certain disabilities.
The Medicare program is divided into four separate parts:
- Medicare Part AMedicare Part A is hospital coverage for Medicare beneficiaries. It covers inpatient care in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. It also covers limited home healthcare services and hospice care.: Hospital Insurance
- Medicare Part BMedicare Part B is medical coverage for people with Original Medicare benefits. It covers doctor visits, preventative care, tests, durable medical equipment, and supplies. Medicare Part B pays 80 percent of most medically necessary healthcare services.: Medical Insurance
- Medicare Part CMedicare Part C is Medicare's private health plan option. Also known as Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part C plans are a type of Medicare health plan offered by companies that contract with Medicare to provide all...: Private Health Plans (Medicare Advantage)
- Medicare Part DMedicare Part D plans are an option Medicare beneficiaries can use to get prescription drug coverage. Part D plans provide cost-sharing on covered medications in four different phases: deductible, initial coverage, coverage gap, and catastrophic. Each...: Private Prescription Drug Plans
Parts A and B, known as Original MedicareOriginal Medicare is private fee-for-service health insurance for people on Medicare. It has two parts. Part A is hospital coverage. Part B is medical coverage., work with Part D but they are not compatible with Medicare Advantage plansMedicare Advantage (MA), also known as Medicare Part C, are health plans from private insurance companies that are available to people eligible for Original Medicare (Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B)., which completely replace Part A and B coverage, and may include Part D.
A fifth part, called Medigap, is not part of the Medicare program but is regulated by both the Centers for Medicare & MedicaidMedicaid is a public health insurance program that provides health care coverage to low-income families and individuals in the United States. Services (CMS), the agency that administers Medicare, as well as state insurance boards. Also called Medicare supplementsMedicare Supplements are additional insurance policies that Medicare beneficiaries can purchase to cover the gaps in their Original Medicare (Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B) health insurance coverage., these private insurance policies help cover some of the gaps in Original Medicare.