Medicare: an overview
What is Medicare?
Medicare is a Federal health insurance program. It covers most people 65 years old and over, some people younger than 65 with disabilities, people diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and those with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
Learn about who is eligible for Medicare.
Medicare is divided into 4 parts:
- Part A – Hospital Insurance – covers most inpatient hospital care, some inpatient skilled nursing facility care, some home health care, and hospice care.
- Part B – Medical Insurance – covers a portion of outpatient medical services such as doctors' services, out-patient hospital care, laboratory tests, out-patient physical and speech therapy, some home health care, ambulance services, and some medical equipment and supplies.
- Part C – Medicare Advantage – allows you to enroll in and receive your Medicare benefits through private health insurance plans.
- Part D – Prescription Drug Coverage – provides drug coverage through private drug plans.
Note that Medicare does not cover all medical services, and of the services it does cover, Medicare does not cover 100% of the costs. Even though it pays for some preventive services and does cover most medically necessary services, the percentage of beneficiaries out-of-pocket health care expenses is sizable and continues to increase with age.
Some examples of items that Medicare will not pay for are:
- Hearing aids
- Eyeglasses
- Dental care
- Long term care at home or in a nursing home, when the care you need is primarily personal care services/custodial care
- Health care outside of the U.S.
- Acupuncture
- Chiropractic care
See a chart summary of Medicare-covered benefits and cost-sharing for 2008.
Page updated July 24, 2008