Video title: The basics of Medicare

Welcome to HAP's Medicare in minutes.

Here we'll discuss the different parts of Medicare and what options you have to choose from. So you'll be prepared to make the most of your Medicare benefits.

So what is Medicare? Medicare is a national health insurance program provided by the government for those 65 or over and people with a qualifying disability or who have end stage renal disease, ESRD, because of kidney failure.

Medicare, or the original Medicare program, has two parts.Part A is the hospital insurance program. It helps cover inpatient care in hospitals, care in a skilled nursing facility,and in some cases, home health care. Most people do not pay a premium for Part A.

Medicare Part B covers some of what Part A does not, doctor's services and other outpatient care, such as x-rays, laboratory tests, and durable medical equipment. Things like walkers and home oxygen.

Most people pay a monthly premium for Part B.The premium is either paid directly or deducted from your social security check if you're receiving social security.

Part A and Part B make up original Medicare. Original Medicare covers many hospital and doctor services, but not all and not fully. Original Medicare shares the costs of covered services with you.

Beyond original Medicare, you have Medicare Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage Plans. These are plans approved by Medicare and offered by private health plans. A Part C plan combines Part A and B benefits into one plan and typically offers extra benefits.

Medicare advantage plans are optional. You usually pay a monthly premium and must continue to pay the Part B premium as well. Joining one may save you money since out of pocket costs, things like deductibles and coinsurance, are generally lower than with Medicare Part A and B Alone.

Medicare Advantage plans can also give you extra benefits and services. It's important to know what costs and services Medicare Parts A and B do not cover. Picking a Medicare Advantage plan can sometimes help you with these costs and services.

Things like emergency care outside the US, dental care, and fitness benefits. What about prescriptions? Well, Medicare Part D provides prescription drug coverage through plansapproved by Medicare and offered by private companies.

Generally, having a Medicare Part D plan may lower your out of pocket drug costs. Part D benefits can be purchased as a free standing prescription drug plan or as a benefit included in most Medicare Advantage plans where the cost is part of the monthly premium.

So far we've discussed Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D. Now let’s talk about Medicare supplements. These supplemental insurance policies, also referred to as Medigap plans, are purchased to cover those expenses only partially covered by Medicare like deductibles and coinsurance.

The most popular Medigap plans have no coinsurance and no deductibles.You pay a monthly premium to the plan. So those are the basics. Part A and B benefits will cover the cost of many hospital and medical services but not all of the cost.

A Part C plan combines Parts A, B, and often Part D and is sold by private companies. It can help save you money and give you benefits beyond original Medicare. Part D will help with prescription drug costs.

And Medicare supplement plans are an alternative to Part C plans. They cover the expenses only partially covered by original Medicare. Medicare supplement plans cannot include prescription drugs.

But how should you decide if you need a Part C plan, Part D prescription drug coverage, or a Medicare supplement? Well you can start with all the free resources HAP has to offer.

Visit us online at hap.org/medicare. There you'll fine helpful content and tools including our plan selector. You can also watch more of HAP's Medicare in Minutes videos.

And that concludes HAP's Medicare in Minutes The Basics of Medicare.

HAP believes being smart about Medicare is crucial to helping you get what you need. We sponsor free workshops where you can talk to HAP Medicare experts one-on-one about your questions and concerns.We're also available by phone, Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm Eastern Time. You can like us on Facebook at facebook.com/hap or visit hap.org/medicare.

HAP is here with resources to make the tough decisions a little easier. Ask. Learn. Understand your Medicare with a little help from HAP.

Video title: Eligibility, enrollment and choosing plans

Welcome to HAP's Medicare in minutes.

Here we'll focus on eligibility, enrollment, and choosing Medicare plans. Let's start with eligibility.

You are eligible for Medicare if you or your spouse worked for at least ten years in Medicare covered employment. Medicare covered employment just means that you payed taxes for Medicare.

These are the taxes usually taken out of your paycheck. You must also be age 65 or older and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. If you're not yet age 65, you may be eligible for coverage if you have a qualifying disability or end stage renal disease, ESRD, because of kidney failure.

Now let's focus on enrollment. If you're receiving social security benefits you will automatically receive a red, white, and blue Medicare card one to three months before your 65th birthday.

If you do nothing, you'll be enrolled effective the first day of the month of your 65th birthday, in most cases. The Medicare card will show the effective date of your coverage for Part A and Part B.

There is a monthly premium for Part B, so you are free to decline the coverage. The instructions with your card will tell you how to notify social security if you elect not to accept Part B.

Just remember, that Part B covers doctors services and some of the care not covered by Part A, which is why most Medicare beneficiaries sign up for Part B.

If you are not already receiving social security when you turn 65, enrollment is not automatic.You must take action to enroll. Make arrangements through social security anytime during the seven-month initial enrollment period.

Three months before, the month of, and three months after your 65th birthday. Your coverage can begin as early as the first of your birthday month.

If you wait until after your birthday to sign up, your coverage will be delayed past your 65th birthday. You can enroll in Part B when you first become eligible for Medicare.

Delaying could cost you higher premiums later on. You might also be limited by the times of the year you can enroll. For example, someone with a June birthday who declines Part B could be without coverage until January of the following year.

Lastly, let's talk about choosing plans. Once you sign up for original Medicare, you might decide you need additional protection from Medicare's deductibles and coinsurance, generally twenty percent.

Or you may decide you also want coverage for prescriptions or for benefits not covered by Medicare. When you sign up for Medicare the first time, during the initial enrollment period, you can sign up for additional coverage through a Medicare Advantage plan, a standalone prescription drug plan, or a Medicare supplement or Medigap plan.

Each year you have the opportunity to change your Medicare Advantage plan or your prescription drug plan. You can reconsider and assess whether your health has changed and whether your health plan needs have changed.

So every fall from October 15th through December 7th you can change your plan. And if you decide your plan still works for you, you don't have to do a thing and your coverage will automatically renew.

Medicare supplement plans can be purchased at any time without any enrollment periods. However, your best chance to enroll is when you turn 65.

If you'd like to learn more, Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug plan, and Medicare supplement coverage is discussed by our Medicare in Minutes video called What Isn't Covered by Medicare Why Consider Additional Coverage.

And that concludes this HAP Medicare in Minutes Eligibility, Enrollment, and Choosing Plans.

HAP believes being smart about Medicare is crucial to helping you get what you need. We sponsor free workshops where you can talk to HAP Medicare experts one-on-one about your questions and concerns.

We're also available by phone Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm Eastern Time. You can like us on Facebook at facebook.com/hap or visit us at hap.org/medicare.

HAP is here with the resources to make the tough decisions a little easier. Ask. Learn. Understand your Medicare with a little help from HAP.

Video title: What isn't covered by Medicare?

Welcome to HAP's Medicare in minutes.

Here we'll focus on what isn't covered by Medicare and why purchasing a Medicare Advantage plan, prescription drug plan, or Medicare supplement plan, also called Medigap plan, from a private insurance company can help provide more coverage.

Let's make a list. Hospital stays without day limits, regular dental care, routine hearing exams, eye glasses, no copays or coinsurance, prescription drug coverage, and any health care you might need while traveling outside the United States.

None of these are covered by Medicare Parts A or B. To get benefits like these, you'll need a Medicare Advantage plan, a prescription drug plan, or a Medicare supplement in addition to original Medicare.

But you have to choose so let's compare. Medicare Advantage plans combine the coverage of Part A and B and may include Part D. You may also get added benefits.

For example, most Medicare Advantage plans offer prescription drug coverage and include emergency urgent care worldwide.They can offer other health and wellness benefits for things like routine vision and hearing exams, eye glass coverage, optional dental benefits, and fitness benefits for things like gym memberships and weight loss programs.

Medicare supplement plans cannot provide benefits not covered in part by Medicare.

In varying degrees, they help offset the out of pocket expenses original Medicare doesn't cover. Some Medicare supplements, Medigaps, charge no copays or coinsurance.

If you choose a Medicare supplement plan instead of a Medicare Advantage plan and you want prescription drug coverage, you'll need to enroll in a stand-alone Part D plan.

But how should you decide if you need a Part C plan, Part D, or a Medicare supplement?

Well, start by asking yourself, what's really important to me?

If you travel, do you want to be protected for emergencies worldwide?

Or are you more concerned about routine care while you're away from home?

Do you want the option to see any Medicare participating doctor?

Or do you have a personal physician who coordinates your care and knows you well?

Do you want prescription drugs? Or a plan that will cover your copays and coinsurance?

Figuring out the Medicare solution for you is really about knowing what you'll need. It's a personal choice. And it can seem complicated. But HAP has free tools and resources to make the choices clear.

Get HAP smart. Visit us online at hap.org/medicare and try our plan selector. It can help narrow down what options are right for you. If you want to learn more and discuss Medicare in detail, we sponsor free workshops where you can talk to HAP Medicare experts one-on-one about your questions and concerns.

We're also available by phone Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm Eastern Time. You can like us on Facebook at facebook.com/hap or visit us at hap.org/medicare.

And that concludes HAP's Medicare in Minutes. What Isn't Covered by Medicare Why Consider Additional Coverage. Ask. Learn. Understand your Medicare with a little help from HAP.

Video title: Part D: Medicare prescription drug coverage

Welcome to HAP's Medicare in minutes.

Here we'll focus on Medicare Part D, which is the prescription drug coverage option available under Medicare. Part D coverage can help keep medication costs down. You can enroll when you first become eligible for Medicare.

Delaying could cost you higher premiums later on. After that, the enrollment period for Part D lasts from October 15th until December 7th each year.

You can get Part D one of two ways. One, by joining a stand-alone prescription drug plan, PDP.Or two, through a Medicare Advantage plan that offers both health care benefits and prescription coverage.

If you choose stand-alone prescription drug plan, consider adding a Medicare supplement for medical costs not covered by original Medicare. With Part D plans, actual benefits can differ.

For example, you may pay an upfront deductible before your plan starts covering your prescriptions. Then, you may pay copayments or coinsurance until you reach the initial coverage limit.

The initial coverage limit includes what you paid, your deductible, coinsurance, copays, and what your plan paid. The dollar amount of the initial coverage limit changes each year.

If you reach this limit, you enter the coverage gap or donut hole.

Why a donut hole? Because when Part D was first passed, the donut hole described a portion of the benefit where Medicare paid nothing. Like what you find in the hole of a donut.

Now under health reform, that hole is being filled a bit more each year.By 2020 the donut hole is scheduled to cover seventy-five percent of your covered generic and brand name drugs.

And the plan you select may help cover the rest. You'll remain in the donut hole until your costs reach the out of pocket threshold, an amount that includes only what you have paid toward your covered drugs.

Then you will pay only a small for your prescriptions for the rest of the calendar year. The out of pocket threshold changes each year.

The best news is something not enough people know about. For anyone struggling to pay for their Part D prescription coverage, whether in a Medicare Advantage, Plan Part C, or a stand-alone prescription drug plan, there may be some help for you. This help is called the Low Income Subsidy, or extra help. This subsidy helps cover prescription drug plan premiums, reduces other out of pocket prescription drug costs, deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and eliminates the donut hole. So contact social security to see if you might be eligible. Or let a friend in need know about this wonderful program. You can apply for extra help at any time.

And that concludes HAP's Medicare in Minutes Part D Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage.

HAP believes being smart about Medicare is crucial to helping you get what you need.We sponsor free workshops where you can talk to HAP Medicare experts one-on-one about your questions and concerns.

We're also available by phone, Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm Eastern Time. You can like us on Facebook at facebook.com/hap or visit hap.org/medicare. HAP is here with resources to make the tough decisions a little easier.

Ask. Learn. Understand your Medicare with a little help from HAP.