Understanding the Four Parts of Medicare

Even if you are determined to think of retirement as all play and no work, to offset your decades of all work and no play, the fact remains that there are still bills to pay, even after you retire.  Unfortunately, the social safety net for seniors is not enough to keep up with the costs of necessities.  Most people retire when and because they are no longer healthy enough to work, not because they have saved enough money to last them the rest of their lives without any additional employment income.  They face a retirement of counting their pennies and counting the hours until the next Social Security check arrives, so they can do it all again the next month.  It is a gross oversimplification to say that healthcare is free after you turn 65.  It is less expensive than it would be if you had to pay for it through employer-provided health insurance or if you had to pay for everything out of pocket.  Budgeting for healthcare as a Medicare beneficiary is more complicated than it originally seems.  For help thinking realistically about your healthcare budget as you approach the age of Medicare eligibility, contact a Dade City elder law attorney.

Budgeting for Healthcare in Retirement Is Not as Simple as ABCD

Medicare is not as simple as walking into a doctor’s office or hospital, showing your driver’s license for proof of age, and then getting whatever treatment you need without paying anything.  There are four separate Medicare programs, and most seniors participate in at least two of them.  This is what each of the four Medicare plans covers:

• Medicare part A covers inpatient treatment in hospitals and nursing homes, although it only covers up to 100 days of nursing home care. You do not pay premiums for part A; in other words, when you are not in the hospital, you do not have to pay for the possibility that you will one day require hospitalization.  You are responsible for deductibles and copays when you use part A services, though.
• Medicare part B covers outpatient expenses, such as doctors’ office visits, diagnostic tests, and outpatient surgeries. Payment is similar to what you experienced with your employer-provided health insurance, where you pay premiums, copays, and deductibles.  With part A and part B, the doctors and hospitals bill Medicare directly.
• Medicare part C, also known as Medicare advantage, covers the same services as part A and part B. The difference is that you buy it through private health insurance companies.  The doctors who treat you bill the insurance companies, and the insurance companies bill Medicare.
• Medicare part D covers prescription drugs. Some drugs are free to patients, but Medicare only partially pays for others.  Since some drugs are beyond the budget of retirees, many patients who require costly prescriptions also participate in other benefit programs to cover the cost of medications.

Contact a Florida Estate Planning Attorney About Preventing Caregiver Burnout

An estate planning attorney can help you find affordable healthcare in retirement.  Contact The Law Office of Laurie R. Chane in Dade City, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

medicareinteractive.org/get-answers/medicare-basics/medicare-coverage-overview/original-medicare#:~:text=Part%20A%20provides%20inpatient%2Fhospital,D%20provides%20prescription%20drug%20coverage.