Medicare Costs

In case you do not know what Medicare is, let me explain. Medicare is a program provided by the federal government that provides insurance to the population that is 65 years of age and older or for the population that is under the age of 65 with disabilities. The government departments that oversee this program are the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Health Care Financial Administration. (HCFA).

Trying to figure Medicare costs is not an easy task. The cost depends on a variety of things including your plan coverage, if you have assets and if you have income.

There are two different plans to Medicare. There is part a and part b. Part a is hospital insurance. This is usually at no cost, because if you or your spouse were employed then Medicare taxes were paid into the system. So the Medicare costs for part a are none. The services that are provided under this plan are home health care, hospitals and any kind of skilled health facilities. It also covers hospice. There are a few circumstances when you would have to pay for part a. These circumstances would be if you were self-employed or you paid Medicare taxes for less than ten years. In this case your Medicare costs would be approximately $250 to $400 a month depending on what was paid into Medicare.

Part b of Medicare is optional and is not free. Part b covers laboratory tests and radiology tests, along with other outpatient services. The Medicare costs for this is completely optional. If you have other insurance, you might not need part b. The Medicare costs for this would be approximately $100 per month. On both part a and part b Medicare plans, there are sometimes deductibles. This will add to your Medicare costs.

There is also Medicare part d. Medicare calls this their prescription drug program. This includes a discount drug card. The costs include monthly premiums, annual deductible and out-of-pocket costs.

Everyone should understand that Medicare is not free and there will be Medicare costs. It is a very good program and many people can benefit from it. Many hours have been spent trying to perfect the system, but it is very complicated.

Anyone who is reaching the age for Medicare, or is interested in Medicare should call Health and Human Services (HHS) and have a representative explain thoroughly the details of the Medicare plan.

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