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Top Frequently Asked Questions About Medicare
How Do I Enroll in Medicare?
Well, it varies based on your circumstances. However, anyone turning 65, or who is under 65 and qualifies on the basis of disability or other special situation may enroll.
What are Medicare Parts A & B?
Medicare Part A helps cover most medically necessary hospital care, skilled nursing care facility care, nursing home care, hospice and home health services. There is a monthly premium for Part A, but many people will qualify for premium-free Part A*. Medicare Part B helps cover most medically necessary doctors’ services, preventive care, lab tests, x-rays and some health and ambulance services. You pay a monthly premium for Part B. *If you have worked and paid Social Security taxes for at least 40 calendar quarters (10 years).
How do I get a free quote from The Medicare Helpline?
You can get a free, no obligation quote from The Medicare Helpline here. Once you provide us with some basic information, one of our licensed insurance agents will be in touch to help you compare available Medicare coverage to find the right plan for you. Get started on your free, no obligation quote today.
What is Medicare Advantage?
Medicare Advantage plans (Part C) are offered by Medicare-approved private insurance companies. A Medicare Advantage plan includes all the benefits and services covered under Part A and Part B, working in place of them. These plans may also include additional benefits like hearing, dental, vision and fitness programs, as well as Medicare prescription drug coverage as a part of the plan.
What is a Medicare Supplement Plan?
These plans add additional benefits to those provided by Medicare Part A and Part B. There are 8 Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans (A to N). Plan G provides the broadest coverage. All 8 plans are standardized and are identical from one insurance carrier to another.
What Benefits do Medicare Supplement Plans Provide?
They provide additional benefits to help fill in the gaps in Medicare Part A and Part B coverage, like covering 20% of coinsurance that Medicare doesn’t pay for. However, Medicare Supplement Insurance does not provide drug coverage, so you’ll want a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) for that.
Get StartedMore FAQs About Medicare
Most Medicare Advantage plans include Prescription Drug Coverage (Part D).
Each year, you have a chance to make changes to your Medicare Advantage or Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage for the following year during the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). You can also make changes to your Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage when certain events happen in your life, like if you move or you lose other insurance coverage. These chances to make changes are called Special Enrollment Periods (SEPs). There are certain rules about when you can make changes and the type of changes you can make are different for each SEP.
AEP allows you to make any changes to your Medicare Advantage coverage once a year. AEP enrollment runs October 15th through December 7th every year.
The Initial Enrollment Period for Part A and Part B starts 3 months before your 65th birthday, includes the month you turn 65, and ends 3 months after the month you turn 65.
Yes. However, they may not be the cheapest Medicare Advantage offerings in your state. They tend to include higher prescription drug costs, copayments and deductibles. Talk with one of our licensed sales agent about zero-premium plans and if they’re right for you.
That’s up to you. A Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) is insurance that helps protect you against high out-of-pocket drug costs. If you decide not to join a plan when you’re first eligible, and you don’t have other creditable Prescription Drug coverage, you’ll likely pay a late enrollment penalty later. So even if you don’t take many prescriptions now, you should consider joining a Prescription Drug Plan.
Original Medicare doesn’t, but some Medicare Advantage plans can have dental coverage built in. If you pick a plan that doesn’t have it built in, The Medicare Helpline can help you with a stand-alone dental plan.