What You Need To Know About Medicare And Medicare Advantage Plans

•  What is Medicare?

This is a federal insurance program that covers health problems for Americans of 65 years and above. All individuals who have been contributing to the Social Security Administration for the last ten years are bound to receive free medical services from the program. A significant number of individuals think that the federal government pays for this medical program. It is, however, funded by the social security administration, which is basically our tax money.

Every American who attains the age of 65 is automatically enrolled into this program where he or she will be accessing two types of Medicare plans, which include Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B. Everyone is required to have Parts A and B, as they provide different benefits. When you are researching the best Medicare Advantage plans, it is important to remember that Medicare Advantage plans do not replace Part A and Part B. The Medicare Advantage plans include Part A and Part B, along with offering some other benefits that cover prescriptions, dental, vision, hearing and in some cases fitness and transportation services.

•  Who Benefits?

All the Americans who have attained the age of 65 and above and any other disabled persons are automatically enrolled in the Medicare plans. However, there is the necessity clause where you are required to have been contributing to the social security administration for the last ten years. If you have not been contributing to the social security administration, it will be difficult to access these services.

• Medicare Part A

This is the most basic medical provision under the Medicare plan that most of the individuals will be accessing. It will cover the costs if you are hospitalized provided you have been contributing to the social security administration. You will not be required to pay anything.

• Medicare Part B

This is a plan in the Medicare that helps individuals who have not been hospitalized but want to be covered for the outpatient services they will be getting. For this plan, various things like doctor visits, preventive costs such as diabetes testing, and physical therapy will be covered. However, it is important to note that you must be paying a particular amount of monthly premium so that you can access the benefits of Medicare part B.

• Medicare Advantage Plans

This is another insurance plan that is not covered under the traditional Medicare plan that is paid by the federal government. The traditional Medicare plan includes both parts A and B and is covered by the government and funded through social security administration. However, this is another plan that is available to all the citizens of the United States who are willing to include an added insurance coverage for their health plans. It is not provided by the government, but it is offered by a significant number of companies around the country. It is primarily used in covering the prescription drugs that one may want to use. This medical plan is known as part D.

• Part C

You need some insurance guide so that you can understand the differences that exist between Part A all the way to part C. However; it is necessary that you also enroll for the medical advantage in part C so that you can enjoy multiple benefits that you will not enjoy in the traditional Medicare plans. Through medical advantage part C, you will be able to access the standard benefits of original Medicare but get additional benefits like vision treatment, hearing, fitness, and dental treatment.

• Differences between Medicare and Medicare Advantage

From the above analogy, it is clear that a Medicare plan is a medical insurance that is paid by the federal government through the social security administration, that individuals have deducted from their monthly salaries. On the other hand, Medicare Advantage is additional medical insurance covers that are provided by private companies in the United States.

Many people have a perception that Medicare Advantage plans have more benefits and are highly regulated than the traditional Medicare plans. It is evident that there are a significant number of benefits that one will be getting from Medicare Advantage plans that you cannot access from the traditional insurance covers. However, this does not make the government-supported plan any less important. In fact, Medicare Advantage plans are highly monitored and regulated as compared to the traditional covers.

It is essential to understand that, although original Medicare is available in all parts of the country and is the same for all, Medicare Advantage plans are customized depending on the states and counties. Additionally, doctors and pharmacists don’t accept any advantage plans so you have to consult your doctor before you can get one.