Medicare Eligible Health Insurance Plans
It’s a federal government program that provides health insurance to people age 65 and older, certain disabled people under age 65, people of any age with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant). The program is administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Original Medicare: Part A and Part B
– Part A helps pay for inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, limited home health and hospice care.
– Part B helps pay for doctor’s services and outpatient hospital services. It also covers diagnostic tests, ambulance transport and preventive care including mammography and Pap tests and durable medical equipment and supplies.
Medicare Part C: Medicare Advantage Plans
– Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans are run by private companies like Blue Shield. Basically, companies like Blue Shield contract with Medicare to provide the same basic benefits as Original Medicare plus more for Medicare beneficiaries. In return, these plans provide all of your Part A and Part B benefits and often provide additional benefits such as vision, hearing, dental and health and wellness programs.
– Based on the additional benefits they provide, MA plans can charge different co-payments, co-insurance and deductibles for their services and generally you will need to see those doctors who belong to the plan.
Medicare Part D: Prescription Drug Plans
– Beneficiaries who do not have Medicare Part D coverage through some other source, like an employer plan, can get help with prescription drug costs through private companies who have the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approval to offer a Prescription Drug Plan.
– Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug plans (MA-PD) are plans that include prescription drug coverage. Prescription Drug Plans (PDP) is plans that offer standalone prescription drug benefits (without Medical insurance)
If you’re eligible for Medicare, you can get health coverage through Original Medicare alone. However, many people find that Original Medicare does not cover all their healthcare needs because many medical services and supplies are not covered.
To help pay for these services and supplies many people enhance their coverage with a Medicare Supplement (also known as Medigap) plan. Others like the convenience and coverage of a Medicare Advantage plan that provides rich benefits without large plan premiums. In fact, some of these plans, like the plans offered by Blue Shield of California, don’t have any additional plan premium at all.
Blue Shield offers many types of Medical Insurance Plans in California:
– Medicare Supplement plans
– Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plans
– Medicare Prescription Drug (PDP) plans
Processing your request, Please wait....
