Key Medicare Terms for Informed Decisions

Enrolling for and/or making changes to a Medicare plan can be confusing. Medical News Today’s website states that learning how the health program works can help avoid errors, including missing enrollment periods, overlooking costs, and choosing unsuitable plans.

To help you avoid costly mistakes that result in you not getting the best coverage, it is important to understand what you are signing up for. One easy way to start is to learn Medicare terms.  

Medical News Today explains the following terms:

Out-of-pocket cost: This is the amount a person must pay for care when Medicare does not pay the total amount or offer coverage. Costs can include deductibles, coinsurance, copayments, and premiums.

Premium: This is the amount of money someone pays each month for Medicare coverage.

Deductible: This is an annual amount a person must spend out of pocket within a certain period before Medicare starts to fund their treatments.

Coinsurance: This is the percentage of treatment costs that a person must self-fund. For Medicare Part B, coinsurance is 20%.

Copayment: This is a fixed dollar amount a person with insurance pays when receiving certain treatments. For Medicare, this usually applies to prescription drugs.

Additionally, it is important to understand Medicare plans. Original Medicare is Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance). Medicare Advantage is known as Part C and is managed by private insurers. Part D offers separate drug coverage. Medigap is a supplemental plan that helps pay costs such as deductibles, premiums and coinsurance not covered by Original Medicare. If you have further questions, visit Medicare.gov. 

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Source: medicalnewstoday.com/articles/medicare-enrollment-common-mistakes?