Differences between Medicare Parts A, B, C and D

 

           

You are exiting the Social Security Administration's website.
Select OK to proceed.

Disclaimer

The Social Security Administration (SSA) website contains links to websites not affiliated with the United States government. These may include State and Local governmental agencies, international agencies, and private entities.
SSA cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided by such websites. If we provide a link to such a website, this does not constitute an endorsement by SSA or any of its employees of the information or products presented on the non-SSA website.
Also, such websites are not within our control and may not follow the same privacy, security or accessibility policies. Once you visit such a website, you are subject to the policies of that site.

 

 

What are the differences between Medicare Parts A, B, C and D?

---

There are four parts to Medicare:

• Medicare Part A, Hospital Insurance;
• Medicare Part B, Medical Insurance;
• Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage), which was formerly known as Medicare + Choice; and
• Medicare Part D, prescription drug coverage.

Generally, people who are over age 65 and getting Social Security automatically qualify for Medicare Parts A and B. So do people who have been getting disability benefits for two years, people who have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) and receive disability benefits, and people who have permanent kidney failure and receive maintenance dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Part A is paid for by a portion of Social Security tax. It helps pay for inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing care, hospice care and other services.
Part B is paid for by the monthly premiums of people enrolled and by general funds from the U.S. Treasury. It helps pay for doctors' fees, outpatient hospital visits, and other medical services and supplies that are not covered by Part A.
Part C (Medicare Advantage) plans allow you to choose to receive all of your health care services through a provider organization. These plans may help lower your costs of receiving medical services, or you may get extra benefits for an additional monthly fee. You must have both Parts A and B to enroll in Part C.
Part D (prescription drug coverage) is voluntary and the costs are paid for by the monthly premiums of enrollees and Medicare. Unlike Part B in which you are automatically enrolled and must opt out if you do not want it, with Part D you have to opt in by filling out a form and enrolling in an approved plan.
More information may be found in our publication called Medicare. Many of our other publications are available on the Internet.
More information about all four parts of Medicare can be found at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website.

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/167