Senior Health Insurance

Medicare Part A and Part B are also known as Original Medicare. Medicare Part A provides coverage primarily for hospital expenses. Medicare Part B primarily provides coverage for doctors visits.

Most seniors who haven’t chosen a Medicare Advantage or a Part C policy will have these two parts of Medicare

Medicare Parts A and B should not be confused with Medicare Supplement Plans A and B. (Why they didn’t give numbers for one and letters for the other I’ll never know.)

Medicare Part A and B provide substantial medical insurance, but many seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries choose to supplement this coverage with a Medicare Supplement policy or choose to purchase a Medicare Part C policy. This is because coverage offered by these parts A and B of Medicare leave the Medicare beneficiary with deductibles and coinsurance to pay.

(A Medicare Part C policy pays benefits similar to a combination of Medicare Part A, Medicare Part B and a Medicare Supplement. One type of Medicare Part C policy is a Medicare Advantage policy.)

If you have worked and paid into Medicare for 40 or more quarters you will probably not have to pay for the cost of Medicare Part A. Medicare Part A can cost as much as $450 if you haven’t paid into Medicare for enough quarters.

Medicare part B can cost up to 369.10 in 2011 or as low as 96.40. The costs are based on when you became eligible for Part B and your income in 2009.

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