Medicare Insurance Plan Comparison

Medicare is the federal health insurance program available to all citizens---and to legal immigrants who have lived in the country for five continuous years---who are age 65 and older.
Medicare has four parts (A, B, C and D). Comparing Medicare plans means comparing the options provided by the programs in Parts C and D with those provided by "original" Medicare, Parts A and B.
Consequently, before you can compare Medicare plans and supplements, you need to understand what original Medicare provides. This short article is a good place to start.

Part A

• Medicare Part A provides financial protection for inpatient hospital care. There are no monthly premiums for Part A, but you do have to pay a share of the cost of your stay.

Part B

• With the exception of prescription drugs, Part B covers most of the cost of the care you receive outside of the hospital. You pay a monthly premium for Part B and it has an annual deductible. Once you meet the deductible, Part B covers 80 percent of your costs, leaving you to you pay the remainder.

Part C

• Part C, commonly called Medicare "Advantage," gives you a choice of more than a thousand privately offered health care plans. All Advantage programs provide coverage equivalent to Parts A and B plus a variety of additional benefits depending on your needs. Here, you will find HMOs, PPOs, POSs and fee-for-service plans. Medicare requires that every company offering Advantage plans provides at least one that contains Part D (prescription) coverage. You may need to live within a coverage area to join an Advantage plan.

Part D

• Medicare introduced Part D (prescription drug insurance) in 2006. Like Medicare Advantage plans, private companies provide Medicare's prescription benefit. Monthly premiums vary among plans, as do formularies (drugs covered) and cost.

Comparing Plans

• Medicare Parts A and B serve as the foundation of all Medicare plans. By law, Parts A and B must be included in Medicare Part C Advantage plans.
  Medicare Advantage plans tend to add additional benefits to Medicare's coverage in exchange for monthly premiums. In some cases, you also must agree to limit your choice of care providers (as in an HMO, for example).
  If you need more coverage than Medicare provides, and you can afford the added cost, you might want to consider an Advantage plan. If you do, however, a careful comparison between plans is critical. Health and Human Services has a "Plan Comparison" on the Medicare website (See Resources, below), that you can use to compare available Advantage and Medigap plans. Medigap plans cover some of the cost of original Medicare.
  As with Medicare Advantage, you can choose among a plethora of different Medicare D plans, each with its own price structure and drug formulary. Once again, Medicare has a website to help guide you find a plan that's right for you (See Resources, below).