Medicare

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Prevention and Risk Factors

Learn More

• Related Issues

See, Play and Learn

• Health Check Tools

Research

• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

Medicare is the U.S. government's health insurance program for people age 65 or older. Some people under age 65 can qualify for Medicare, too. They include those with disabilities, permanent kidney failure, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Medicare helps with the cost of health care. It does not cover all medical expenses or the cost of most long-term care. The program has four parts:

• Part A is hospital insurance
• Part B helps pay for medical services that Part A doesn't cover
• Part C is called Medicare Advantage. If you have Parts A and B, you can choose this option to receive all of your health care through a provider organization, like an HMO.
• Part D is prescription drug coverage. It helps pay for some medicines.

Start Here

• Medicare (Social Security Administration) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Parts of Medicare (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• What Original Medicare covers (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Preventive Visit and Yearly Wellness Exams (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Claims, Appeals, and Complaints (Medicare) (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Costs in the coverage gap (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Drug Coverage (Part D) (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Drug Plan Coverage Rules (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
• Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Coverage (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
• How Medicare Works with Other Insurance (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
• Inpatient hospital care (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Your Medicare Coverage: Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) Therapy (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)

Health Check Tools

• Eligibility and Premium Calculator (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: A 24% Decline in the Utilization of Epidural Procedure Visits for...
• Article: Escalating Growth to Rapid Decline of Utilization Patterns of Facet Joint...
• Article: Mandatory Medicare bundled payment and the future of hospital reimbursement.
• Medicare -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• Medicare.gov (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Medicare: Find and Compare Health Care Providers (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Medicare: Talk to Someone (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)

Patient Handouts

• Understanding Medicare (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish