Learn About Medicare

Learn About Medicare Benefits

What you should know about Medicare’s four “Parts” and their Medicare benefits.

Part A (also called Original Medicare) is hospital coverage

Part A is administered by Medicare and provides Medicare benefits and coverage for:

• Inpatient hospital care
• Inpatient stays in most skilled nursing facilities
• Hospice and home health services

Part B (also called Original Medicare) is medical coverage

Part B is also administered by Medicare and provides Medicare benefits and coverage for:

• Doctor and clinical lab services
• Outpatient and preventive care 
• Screenings, surgical fees and supplies
• Physical and occupational therapy

Please note: combined, Medicare Part A and Part B may also be defined as Original Medicare. 

Part C (also called Medicare Advantage) combines both Part A and B

Part C is an alternative to getting Medicare Part A and Part B coverage separately. Medicare Advantage plans (called MA plans) combine Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance) together in one plan, and can also be combined with Part D prescription drug coverage. Generally, these plans are offered as:

• Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO plans), like our Medicare Advantage PPO plans
• Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO plans), like our Medicare Advantage HMO plans
• Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS plans), like our Medicare PFFS plans

Part D is Prescription Drug Coverage

A Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) can be a stand-alone plan (not joined with other insurance), like our Community CCRx PDP or PrescribaRx PDP plans – or, they may be combined with a Medicare Advantage plan. A Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage is often referred to as simply an MA-PD plan.