Medicare
Medicare is a health insurance program administered by the United States government, covering people who are either age 65 and over, or who meet other special criteria. It is funded by a payroll tax that is split between the employer and employee, or by the self employment tax.
There are 4 major parts to Medicare:
- Part A covers hospitals stays and, in some cases, nursing homes.
- Part B is medical insurance and covers some services not included in Part A. Medicare Part B is optional and carries an extra charge.
- Part C includes the Medicare Advantage Plans, sometimes called Medicare +Choice or just Part C. It allows the option to receive their Medicare benefits through private health insurance plans, instead of through the Original Medicare plan (Parts A and B).
- Part D is the new Prescription Drug Plan (PDP). Anyone with Part A or B is eligible to purchase Part D from a private health insurance company. It may also be combined with a Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD).