Hospital Coverage

What it helps cover:

• Hospital care
• Skilled nursing facility care
• Nursing home care (as long as that isn’t the only care you need)
• Hospice care
• Home healthcare

What it costs:

• Most people generally don’t pay a monthly premium for Original Medicare Part A because they paid Medicare taxes while they were working. However, there are costs you may have to cover. 

Medical Coverage

What it helps cover:

• Medically necessary doctors’ services
• Outpatient care
• Medically necessary chiropractic care
• Home health services
• Durable medical equipment (DME)
• Many preventive services

What it costs:

• Most 2022 Medicare members must pay a monthly premium of $170.10.
• Your Part B premium could be higher depending on your income.
• If you don’t enroll in Medicare Part B as soon as you are eligible, you could be assessed a late enrollment penalty when you do enroll.
  • The penalty could be as high as a 10% increase in your premium for each 12-month period that you were eligible but not enrolled.

Medicare Advantage

What it helps cover:

• Medicare Advantage plans are required by law to provide—at minimum—the same coverage, benefits and rights provided by Original Medicare Part A and Part B, with the exception of hospice care.
• Many Medicare Advantage plans also choose to offer prescription drug coverage, as well as coverage for routine dental, vision and hearing benefits.

What it costs:

• Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private insurance companies contracted by the federal government, so they vary in cost, coverage, deductibles and copays.
• Many Medicare Advantage plans offer affordable or $0 premiums plus a variety of coverages and benefits not offered by Original Medicare (Medicare Parts A and B).

Prescription Drug Coverage

What it helps cover:

• Medicare Part D helps cover prescriptions drugs.
• Plan premiums, the drugs that are covered, deductibles, coinsurance and copays will vary by plan, so you should check and compare plans each year based on your needs, the prescription drugs you take, etc.

What it costs:

• Like Medicare Advantage (Part C), prescription drug plans (Part D) are offered by private insurance companies contracted by the federal government.
  • Plans vary in cost, coverage, deductibles and copays.
• There’s a late-enrollment penalty if you don’t enroll in an approved Medicare drug plan (including a Medicare Advantage plan) when you’re first eligible, unless you have other creditable prescriptions drug coverage.
  • Medicare calculates the penalty by multiplying 1% of the “national base beneficiary premium” ($33.37 in 2022) times the number of full, uncovered months you didn’t have Part D or creditable coverage.
  • This penalty is assessed when you enroll, and you’ll pay the higher amount for as long as you keep your Part D coverage.
• Your Part D premium could be higher depending on your income.