Medicare is an insurance program administered by the government of the United States, providing health insurance coverage to citizens who are aged 65 and over, or who meet other special criteria.

The Medicare program has three parts: Part A (hospital insurance), Part B (medical insurance) and Part D (prescription drug insurance).

Part A -

Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, including semiprivate room, food, tests, and doctor's fees.

Part A covers stays in a skilled nursing facility if certain criteria are met:

• A preceding hospital stay must be at least three days, not counting the discharge date.
• The nursing home stay must be for something diagnosed during the hospital stay or for the main cause of hospital stay. For instance, a hospital stay for a broken hip and then a nursing home stay for physical therapy would not be covered.
• If the patient is not receiving rehabilitation but has some other ailment that requires skilled nursing supervision then the nursing home stay would be covered.
• The care being rendered by the nursing home must be skilled. Medicare part A does not pay for custodial, non-skilled, or assisted living.

Coverage includes physician and nursing services, laboratory and diagnostic tests, x-rays, influenza and pneumonia vaccinations, renal dialysis, outpatient hospital procedures other outpatient medical treatments administered in a doctor's office.  

Part B is optional and may be deferred if the beneficiary or their spouse is still actively working.

Part D -

Anyone with Part A or B is eligible for Part D. In order to receive this benefit, a person with Medicare must enroll in a stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) or Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD). These plans are approved and regulated by the Medicare program and are actually designed and administered by private health insurance companies.

Unlike Original Medicare (Part A and B), Part D coverage is not standardized. Plans choose which drugs (or even classes of drugs) they wish to cover, at what level (or tier) they wish to cover it, and are free to choose not to cover some drugs at all.

Also -

Neither Part A nor Part B pays for all of a covered person's medical costs. The program contains deductibles, coinsurance and premiums which the covered individual must pay out of pocket.   Some people may qualify to have other governmental programs (such as Medicaid) pay premiums and some or all of the costs associated with Medicare.

Information provided here is very basic and we would suggest visiting the Medicare website which will provide you with for more in-depth and updated facts and policies.

In addition - each state provides State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) counselors.  It is a national program that offers free one-on-one counseling that can help answer your questions and help you understand your health care choices, choose a Medicare plan and/or additional health insurance to meet your needs as well as to help you understand your rights and protections.