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Medicare eligibility rules are quite simple.
To qualify, you must have paid money into the Medicare system for at least ten years.
Another condition is that you must be aged 65 or older, unless you have a disability or diagnosed with permanent kidney failure.
Medicare offers several benefits such as hospital insurance, medical insurance and prescription drug plans.
There is another part that deals with a type of insurance plan called Medicare Advantage.
The following discusses each benefit in a little more detail: Part A: Hospital Insurance.
Medicare can help pay for your inpatient costs at a hospital, clinic or ambulatory surgical centers.
It can also assist on payments for home health care, skilled nursing service and hospice, provided that you meet additional criteria.
This benefit does not require any premium payments since this is already paid for with the Medicare taxes deducted from your paycheck when you were still working.
Part B: Medical Insurance.
This benefit helps pay for some services and products not covered by part A, which are mostly outpatient costs.
These include professional fees, laboratory and diagnostic tests, x-rays, blood transfusions, renal dialysis, drugs covered by Medicare and medical equipment such as canes, walkers and wheelchairs.
This optional benefit requires premium payments, which can be higher if you don't sign up for it when you become eligible.
Part D: Drug Prescription Plans.
The Medicare Prescription Drug coverage helps pay for medicine not covered in Part B.
Aside from reducing your prescription medicine expenses, it can also be your defense against higher expenses in the future.
The plans are approved and regulated by Medicare, but is actually administered by private insurance companies.
Part C: Medicare Advantage Plan.
This is basically another method to get your Medicare benefits.
It combines Parts A, B and some aspects of Part D.
Private insurance groups endorsed by Medicare administer these plans.
The policies cover services that are medically essential and can charge non-standard deductibles, co-payments, or co-insurance for these services.
Unfortunately, these benefits are not enough to cover all the medical expenses that you could incur once you become eligible.
Also, there is the concern that the number of senior citizens is increasing more rapidly than the working population who are basically the ones funding Medicare.
This means that the federal government bearing some of the cost, and if the trend continues, it will not be able to sustain Medicare beyond 2018, or thereabout.
Still, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
It is important to learn as much as you can about Medicare eligibility rules and coverage.
In the end, education is the key to making the most of your benefits.
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