Lesson 2: What is Medicare - Parts A & B

We go over what Medicare is:

• Medicare is Health Insurance sponsored by the Federal Government for people who are 65 or older, disabled for 24 months or special cases such as End Stage Renal Disease or ALS.

• Medicare Parts A & B is "Original Medicare"

• Part A covers you in the Hospital, skilled nursing home and hospice. There is no monthly cost. There is a Part A deductible($1632/Benefit Period* in 2024) for Hospital stays

• Part B covers you for outpatient services. Things like Doctor's visits, imaging, labs, outpatient surgery and therapy. Part B has a monthly cost and an annual deductible($240 in 2024) + 20% co-insurance.

*Benefit Period: The way that Original Medicare measures your use of hospital and skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. A benefit period begins the day you're admitted as an inpatient in a hospital or SNF. The benefit period ends when you haven't gotten any inpatient hospital care (or up to 100 days of skilled care in a SNF) for 60 days in a row. If you go into a hospital or a SNF after one benefit period has ended, a new benefit period begins. You must pay the inpatient hospital deductible for each benefit period. There's no limit to the number of benefit periods.