Medicare Planning

There are generally three groups of people who qualify for Medicare:

• Individuals at or approaching the age of 65
• Certain people who are younger than 65 but have disabilities
• People who have End-Stage Renal (Kidney) Disease

Most Americans can begin to enroll in Medicare during their Initial Enrollment period, which starts three months before the month of their 65th birthday and ends three months after their birthday month. During this seven-month period, you can enroll in Medicare, buy supplementary coverage and adjust your benefits, usually without penalty. If you want to receive the best prices and easiest application process, then this is the time to get your coverage.

The Medicare program is made up of many plan options, but they all center on coverage called Original Medicare. This is the Medicare’s core coverage that is supported by the U.S. government and the federal Medicare tax. It consists of two components:

• Medicare Part A (Hospital Coverage) which pays for inpatient care.
• Medicare Part B (Medical Benefits) which pay for everyday health care costs like physician visits or outpatient services.

However, there are many plans on the private market that are designed to augment Original Medicare. Many, major insurers offer:

• Medicare Advantage (Part C) Plans: These plans offer all the benefits of Original Medicare, but they also offer expanded benefits such as dental, vision or prescription drug coverage.
• Medicare Prescription Drug (Part D) Plans: If you don’t want a full Medicare Advantage plan, but want prescription drug benefits, then Part D coverage can help you get it. Original Medicare does not cover most routine prescription drug costs, so you can use this plan to receive substantial benefits instead.
• Medicare Supplemental (Medigap) Plans: Under Original Medicare, you will face coinsurance, deductibles and other cost obligations. However, if you want extra assistance paying for these costs, you can enroll in a Medigap plan. You cannot, however, buy a Medigap plan alongside a Medicare Advantage plan.

There are many things that you will need to consider when choosing your Medicare coverage.

• Some Original Medicare participants do not qualify for certain Part C, Part D or Medigap plans.
• You must have both Medicare Part A & Medicare Part B before you can enroll in any additional plans. You will remain enrolled in Original Medicare after you enroll in these plans.
• Not all plans are available in all areas. You must buy a plan available in your area to receive optimized benefits.
• All plans will have different premiums, coverage networks and available benefits. Therefore, some might be better for you as opposed to others.

Overall, you must choose a plan that will minimize your health care costs while also not costing you an arm and a leg. Our agents are more than qualified to help you delve into the numerous policy options out there to determine which options are best for you.