| Medicare covers many of your
health care needs. Today’s Medicare is working with
private companies' health plans to provide different
ways to get your health care coverage in the Medicare
program. The Medicare health plan that you choose
affects many things like cost, benefits, doctor choice,
convenience, and quality. Your Medicare health plan
choices include:
- The Original Medicare Plan – This is a
fee-for-service plan that covers many health care
services and certain drugs. You can go to any doctor
or hospital that accepts Medicare. When you get your
health care, you use your red, white, and blue
Medicare card.
The Original Medicare Plan pays for
many health care services and supplies, but it
doesn’t pay all of your health care costs. There are
costs that you must pay, like coinsurance,
copayments, and deductibles. These costs are called
“gaps” in Medicare coverage. You might want to
consider buying a Medigap or Medicare Supplement
policy to cover these gaps in Medicare coverage. You
can also add prescription drug coverage by joining a
Medicare Prescription Drug Plan.
For more information on the Original Medicare
Plan, visit the What is Medicare?section of this
webiste.
- Medicare Advantage Plans
– Available in many areas. If you have one of these
plans, you don’t need a Medigap policy. These plans
include:
- Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO)
- Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO)
- Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) Plans
- Medicare Special Needs Plans
These plans may cover more services and have
lower out-of-pocket costs than the Original Medicare
Plan. Some plans cover prescription drugs (these
plans are known as, MA-PD for Medicare
Advantage-Part D). In some plans, like HMOs, you may
only be able to see certain doctors or go to certain
hospitals to get covered services.
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