Medicare: So Many Moving Parts
If you are looking for a way to boost your self-confidence, consider congratulating yourself on your longevity. You have been receiving correspondence from the AARP for such a long time that their magazines and oversized postcards, clearly designed for the generation that takes print media more seriously than online content, no longer make you feel old; they have just become a normal part of your life, like endless bills and a growing litany of aches and pains. Soon, you will have another longevity milestone to celebrate, namely becoming eligible for Medicare. Think of enrolling in Medicare as your Sweet 65 party; to do it right, it takes as much preparation as it would to celebrate a milestone birthday. Finding the Medicare plans that will provide the services you need the most at the lowest costs to you is intricate work, much like icing a cake. For help getting the preparations for your retirement party started, which begins, of course, with a realistic budget, contact a Washington, D.C. estate planning lawyer.
The Part That Masquerades as a Freebie
The people of Washington, D.C. are fond of pointing out that the United States offers little in the way of free healthcare. Even Medicare part A only pretends to be free to patients. Enrollees do not pay premiums; they only pay deductibles and copays when they use the services covered under part A. These services include hospitalizations and nursing home care.
The Part You Use the Most
If Medicare part A covers hospital treatments, part B covers everything else. Its services include doctors’ office visits, screenings and diagnostic tests, home health services, and durable medical equipment such as knee braces, walkers, and wheelchairs. The variety of part B plan options is virtually endless. You must carefully balance the premiums with the deductibles and copays with your own unique health history to figure out which plan is likely to cost you the least.
The Part That Makes You Feel Young, for a Price
If choosing a Medicare part A plan and a Medicare part B plan sounds too complicated, you can instead choose to get your Medicare coverage through a private health insurance company, so the process feels more like dealing with an employer-provided insurance plan like you did when you were working. This is called Medicare part C, Medigap, or Medicare Advantage.
The Part With the Drugs
Medicare part D covers prescription drugs. Medicare classifies prescription drugs into six groups, starting with the ones it covers at no cost to the patient, and going all the way to drugs for which it does not cover anything, mostly because these drugs are new or rarely used by seniors. In practice, this means that, for most of the prescription drugs you take, Medicare covers a portion of the cost, and you pay the rest. If the cost of your prescription drugs is still burdensome even when using Medicare, you can also enroll in other prescription drug coverage programs simultaneously.
Contact Tobin O’Connor Ewing About Healthcare Costs in Retirement
A Washington, D.C. estate planning attorney can help you strategize about keeping healthcare affordable as a retiree. Contact Tobin, O’Connor, and Ewing in Washington, D.C. or call 202-362-5900.
Source:
medicareinteractive.org/get-answers/medicare-basics/medicare-coverage-overview/original-medicare#:~:text=Part%20A%20provides%20inpatient%2Fhospital,D%20provides%20prescription%20drug%20coverage.
