Medicare
Medicare is the Federal health insurance program for Americans age 65 and older and for certain disabled Americans. If you are eligible for Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits and are age 65, you and your spouse automatically qualify for Medicare.

Medicare has two parts: hospital insurance, known as Part A, and supplementary medical insurance, known as Part B, which provides payments for doctors and related services and supplies ordered by the doctor. If you are eligible for Medicare, Part A is free, but you must pay a premium for Part B.

Medicare will pay for many of your health care expenses, but not all of them. In particular, Medicare does not cover most nursing home care, long-term care services in the home, or prescription drugs. There are also special rules on when Medicare pays your bills that apply if you have employer group health insurance coverage through your own job or the employment of a spouse.

Medicare usually operates on a fee-for-service basis. HMOs and similar forms of prepaid health care plans are now available to Medicare enrollees in some locations.

Some people who are covered by Medicare buy private insurance, called “Medigap” policies, to pay the medical bills that Medicare doesn’t cover. Some Medigap policies cover Medicare’s deductibles; most pay the coinsurance amount. Some also pay for health services not covered by Medicare. There are 10 standard plans from which you can choose. (Some States may have fewer than 10.) If you buy a Medigap policy, make sure you do not purchase more than one.

Medicare Rx
As a Medicare beneficiary, you can choose from Different Mdicare prescription drug coverage options. One option is to get prescription drug coverage through a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan that some of our carriers offer. Another option is to get your prescription drug coverage through a Medicare Advantage plan that offers prescription drug coverage.

You can join these planes if you are entitled to Medicare Part A and/or enrolled in Medicare Part B and live in the service area. Eligible individuals may only enroll in one Medicare Prescription Drug Plan at a time and may not be enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan (HMO, PPO), unless they are a member of Medicare Private-Fee-For-Services plan that does not offer Medicare prescription drug coverage or are enrolled in an 1876 Cost Plan. You may join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan during certain times of the year.

If you have a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy that includes prescription drug coverage, you must contact your Medigap Issuer to let them know that you have joined a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. If you decide to keep your current Medigap supplement policy, your Medigap Issuer will remove the prescription drug coverage portion of your policy and adjust your premium. Under certain Circumstances, you can also buy a different Medigap policy without prescription drug coverage sold by your Medigap Issuer. You Medigap issuer cannot charge you more, based on any past or present health problems. Call us for details.

If you or your spouse has, or is able to get, employer group coverage, you should talk to your employer to find out how your benefits will be affected if you join a qualified Medicare Rx.

Medicaid
Medicaid provides health care coverage for some low-income people who cannot afford it. This includes people who are eligible because they are aged, blind, or disabled or certain people in families with dependent children. Medicaid is a Federal program that is operated by the States, and each State decides who is eligible and the scope of health services offered.