By Mark Pabst
While
Medicare is a single health insurance program, it’s made up of different
parts. To get the most out of your Medicare coverage, you need to understand
the relationship among these parts.
When it
comes to selecting the best Medicare coverage, you have many different options.
You may combine some parts, while others are designed to stand alone.
The
chart below explores the benefits you get with the most popular combinations of
Medicare coverage available. Each column represents a unique grouping of
Medicare options. And each row represents a benefit or perk that comes with a
particular type of coverage.
Let’s get to know what
you get from the different combinations. That’s the first step in choosing the
coverage that’s right for you. Learn more about each part of Medicare.
|
Parts
A + B (Original Medicare)*
|
Parts
A + B + D
|
Parts
A + B + D + Medicare Supplement
|
Part C
(Medicare Advantage)
|
|
|
Hospital coverage
|
|
|
|
|
|
Visits to doctors and
other health care professionals
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preventive care
coverage
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prescription drug
coverage
|
No
data available
|
|
|
Yes,
in some plans
|
|
Coverage while
traveling abroad
|
No
data available
|
No
data available
|
Yes,
with some Medicare Supplement plans
|
Some
plans include emergency coverage abroad
|
|
Coverage of routine
dental services
|
No
data available
|
No
data available
|
No
data available
|
Yes,
in some plans
|
|
Coverage of routine
vision and hearing services
|
No
data available
|
No
data available
|
No
data available
|
Yes,
in some plans
|
|
Fitness membership
benefits
|
No
data available
|
No
data available
|
No
data available
|
Yes,
in some plans
|
|
Out-of-pocket maximum
protection
|
No
data available
|
No
data available
|
No
data available
|
|
A quick guide to
Medicare coverage combinations on the chart
·
Parts A and B: Also
called Original Medicare, Part A covers services for hospital stays and similar
inpatient procedures. And Part B includes coverage for doctor visits and other
procedures that don’t require an overnight stay in the hospital.
·
Part C: Also called Medicare
Advantage, Part C is made up of plans approved by Medicare. Private
insurance companies offer these plans. Medicare Advantage plans usually
include a network of health care providers. Some require you to use their
network of providers while others allow you to go out-of-network, usually for a
higher cost.
·
Part D: This part of Medicare
provides prescription drug benefits.
·
Medicare Supplement plan:
Private insurance companies provide these plans that work with Original
Medicare. These plans help cover some of the costs associated with it.
A quick guide to benefits
on the chart
·
Hospital coverage: Benefits for hospital stays and inpatient
procedures.
·
Visits to doctors and other health care professionals: Coverage
for seeing a health care professional as an outpatient.
·
Preventive care coverage: Benefits like annual physical exams,
certain vaccines and some health screenings.
·
Prescription drug coverage: Benefits for prescription
medication.
·
Coverage while traveling abroad: Benefits for medical care
received outside the United States.
·
Dental coverage: Benefits for routine care for your teeth.
·
Vision coverage: Benefits for routine care for your eyesight.
·
Hearing coverage: Benefits for routine care for your hearing.
·
Fitness membership benefits: Benefits for gym or fitness club
memberships.
·
Out-of-pocket maximum protection: A benefit that protects you
from paying more than a certain amount for your covered medical care each year.
*
Medicare Parts A and B do not include prescription drug coverage, which is
provided through Medicare Part D. You are not required to enroll in Medicare
Part D. However, if you do not have prescription drug coverage through another
plan and choose not to enroll in Part D when you first become eligible, you
could end up paying a penalty for late enrollment if you decide to enroll in
Part D later.
About the author
Mark
Pabst has worked as a writer and researcher in the health care
field for almost two decades. When not writing about health he tries to stay
healthy through activities like hiking, climbing and paddling in the far flung
corners of his native state of California. However, despite his best efforts he
still has a few unhealthy habits he can’t shake, most notably a weakness for
jelly donuts.
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