Medicare is a Health Insurance Program for:
Medicare has Four Parts:
Covering generally hospitalization, skilled nursing facility services, some home health and hospice – is available to most beneficiaries premium-free beginning at their 65th birthday or when they have been receiving Social Security disability benefits for 24 months. Those beneficiaries who are not entitled to premium-free Part A, because their employment was not covered by Social Security or Railroad Retirement, can pay a premium up to $443.00 per month (depending on how many quarters of Social Security coverage the individual has) to enroll, but they must have Part B to do so. A time-limited penalty is imposed on those enrolling in Part A after their first opportunity to do so. Part A is necessary, but not sufficient, to enroll in Part C (private managed care plans) and sufficient to enroll in Part D (private prescription drug plans). General enrollment for Part A is available January through March of each year, with benefits starting July 1 of that year.
Covering physicians’ services, outpatient therapies, durable medical equipment, long-term home health services and other outpatient services – is voluntary and available to beneficiaries at the same time they are eligible for Part A. The monthly premium, $94.60 per month in 2009, is generally deducted from a beneficiary’s Social Security or Railroad Retirement check. A one-time limited penalty is imposed for late enrollment. Part B is necessary for Part A enrollment for those not entitled to premium-free Part A, is necessary but not sufficient for Part C enrollment, and is sufficient to enroll in Part D. The general enrollment period is the same as for Part A.
Provided through private managed care plans most commonly organized as health maintenance organizations and required to cover all the services covered under Parts A and B - is voluntary and available at the same time a beneficiary is first entitled to Parts A and B. A beneficiary must have both Parts A and B to be eligible to enroll in Part C. General enrollment is from November 15 through December 31 of each year, with benefits starting January 1 of the following year. Beginning in 2006, Part C plans have been able to offer a prescription drug plan under Part D. There is no late enrollment penalty for Part C.
There are several companies to choose from if you would like to enroll in Medicare Part C, also know as Medicare Advantage Plans. Not all carriers offer products in all counties though, so you need to find the plan that best suits your needs in your particular county of the state.
Part D, provided mostly through private plans offering only prescription drug coverage - is voluntary and available at the same time a beneficiary is first entitled to Parts A and B. Part D was offered for the first time January 1, 2006, with enrollment running from November 15, 2005 through May 15, 2006. Beginning with the 2007 enrollment, general enrollment will follow that of Part C. A beneficiary must have either Part A or Part B to enroll in Part D. Otherwise coverable Part D drugs that are covered under Part A or Part B will not be covered under Part D, regardless of whether the beneficiary has Part A or Part B coverage. A non-time-limited late enrollment penalty is determined by application of two formulas and assessing as penalty the one that yields the highest amount.
The Medicare and Medicaid programs were signed into law on July 30, 1965. President Lyndon B. Johnson is pictured at the signing ceremony in Independence, Missouri at the Truman Library. Former President Truman is seated beside him. You can enlarge the picture by clicking on the smaller picture above. President Johnson held the ceremony there to honor President Truman’s leadership on health insurance, which he first proposed in 1945.
The most significant legislative change to Medicare—called the Medicare Modernization Act or MMA --was signed into law by another President from Texas, George W. Bush, on December 8, 2003. You can read his speech at the signing ceremony and see pictures of the event at the White House web site. This historic legislation adds an outpatient prescription drug benefit to Medicare and makes many other important changes.
Click here to read and download the official government handbook on Medicare, called Medicare & You 2009