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Medicare FAQs

As health-care improvements enable individuals to live longer, more productive lives, they also require them to navigate the web of Medicare coverage once they become old enough to qualify.

  1. What Are The Medicare Part A Premiums For 2011?

    • Medicare Part A insurance pays for hospital care and in-patient care in nursing facilities. Some pay hundreds of dollars each month for Medicare Part A coverage while others pay nothing. Everyone who paid Medicare taxes for more than 40 quarters, or 10 years, pays nothing for Medicare Part A. Individuals who paid Medicare tax for 30 to 39 quarters, or seven and a half years to 10 years, pay $248 per month for Medicare Part A. Everyone else pays $450 for Medicare Part A coverage.

    What Is The Difference Between Medicare and Medicaid?

    • While both Medicare and Medicaid provide health care coverage for qualifying individuals, differences exist. Medicare is sponsored by the federal government and provides coverage for adults age 65 or older, individuals suffering from kidney failure or long-term kidney disease or those who are permanently disabled. Medicaid is administered by state governments and provides coverage for low-income pregnant women, children, adults age 65 and older, the blind or disabled and people who require nursing home care.

    What Is Medicare Supplemental Insurance?

    • Medicare insurance does not pay 100 percent of an individual's medical or prescription drug costs. Medicare coverage includes co-payments, deductibles and procedures that are not covered. The purpose of Medicare supplemental insurance is to pay for all these. A variety of insurance companies offer Medicare supplemental insurance at varying premium rates with different benefits.

    What Preventive Care Does Medicare Cover?

    • Medicare pays for a variety of preventive-care services.These include cancer screenings, such as for colorectal and prostate cancer and mammograms. Medicare covers screening for other serious conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, glaucoma, osteoporosis and diabetes. Preventive care to keep current conditions, such as diabetes or incontinence, from worsening is also covered.

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