Patricia Barry - Medicare For Dummies

Medicare For Dummies®, 4th Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2021 by AARP. All rights reserved. AARP is a registered trademark.

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Trademarks:Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and may not be used without written permission. AARP is a registered trademark of AARP, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER, AARP, AND THE AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES OR WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PROFESSIONAL WHERE APPROPRIATE. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. THE PUBLISHER, AARP, AND THE AUTHOR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE PUBLISHER, AARP, OR THE AUTHOR ENDORSE THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies .

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com . For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com .

This and other AARP books are available in print and e-formats at AARP’s online bookstore, www.aarp.org/bookstore , and through local and online bookstores.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020945334

ISBN 978-1-119-68993-5 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-68994-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-68999-7 (ebk)

1 Cover

2 Title Page

3 Copyright Page

4 Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here

5 Part 1: Getting Started with Medicare Chapter 1: The Nuts and Bolts of Medicare: What It Is and How It Works Addressing Some Upfront Questions Coming to Terms with the ABCs (and D) of Medicare Recognizing That You Have Choices and Must Make Timely Decisions Chapter 2: Spelling Out What Medicare Covers (A Lot, but Not Everything) Understanding What Part A and Part B Cover Knowing What Part D Covers The Gaps: Discovering What Medicare Doesn’t Cover Distinguishing When Coverage Comes with Limits Chapter 3: Understanding What You Pay Toward Your Costs in Medicare Boning Up on Premiums, Deductibles, and Co-payments Paying Higher-Income Premiums Paying Different Premiums than Other People in Certain Years Paying Medicare Taxes While Receiving Medicare Benefits Chapter 4: Reducing Your Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Medicare Purchasing Medigap Insurance Qualifying for Help from Your State Examining Whether Extra Help Can Lower Your Drug Costs Considering Other Ways to Cut Costs

6 Part 2: The Hows and Whens of Medicare Chapter 5: Qualifying for Medicare Hitting the Milestone of Age 65 Qualifying for Medicare under Age 65 on the Basis of Disability Falling through the Cracks: Health-Care Options if You Can’t Get Medicare Yet Chapter 6: Enrolling in Medicare at the Right Time for You At a Glance: Surveying Situations That Affect Enrollment Timing Understanding Your Initial Enrollment Period Delaying Part B if You’ll Qualify for a Special Enrollment Period Later Enrolling in Other Specific Situations Deciding Whether and When to Sign Up for Part D Drug Coverage Understanding the Consequences of Not Signing Up at the Right Time Chapter 7: Discovering How to Sign Up for Medicare Being Automatically Enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B Sign Me Up! Applying for Medicare Parts A and B Opting Out of or Disenrolling from Part A or Part B Knowing When Your Coverage Begins Transitioning from Obamacare to Medicare Chapter 8: Understanding How Medicare Fits In with Other Health Insurance Understanding Medicare’s Coordination of Benefits System Seeing How Medicare Works with an Employer’s Health Insurance Plan Figuring Out How Other Federal Health Benefits Fit In with Medicare Mixing Medicare with Workers’ Comp or No-Fault or Liability Insurance

7 Part 3: Making Smart Choices among Medicare’s Many Options Chapter 9: Making Sense of Medicare’s Many Options Seeing the Big Picture: Your Starting Point to Navigating the Medicare Maze Digging into the Details of Traditional Medicare versus Medicare Advantage Discovering How Medigap Policies Differ from Medicare Advantage Plans Chapter 10: Choosing Wisely If You Go with Traditional Medicare Understanding the Need to Compare Part D Plans Carefully Picking the Part D Plan That’s Best for You Choosing the Medigap Supplemental Policy That’s Best for You Chapter 11: Making Smart Choices If You Opt for Medicare Advantage Comparing Medicare Advantage Plans Choosing the Medicare Advantage Plan That’s Right for You Chapter 12: Getting Help in Making Medicare Choices One on One: Getting Personal Help on Medicare Issues Buyer Beware! Avoiding Scams and Hard-Sell Marketing

8 Part 4: Navigating Medicare from the Inside Chapter 13: Starting Out as a New Medicare Beneficiary Playing Your Cards Right Beyond the Cards: Checking Out the Extent and Limits of Your Coverage Managing Premiums Keeping Track of Your Expenses Dealing with Doctors Filling Prescriptions for the First Time with a Part D Plan Chapter 14: Getting the Inside Scoop on Using Certain Medicare Benefits Taking a Closer Look at Part A Zooming In on Part B Delving into Part D Chapter 15: Changing Your Medicare and Medigap Coverage Switching Coverage during Open Enrollment or Disenrollment Taking Advantage of Special Enrollment Periods Dropping a Plan (Or Being Dropped) Deciding Whether to Stay or Switch to Another Plan for Next Year Changing to Another Medigap Policy Chapter 16: Knowing Your Rights Understanding Your Right to Accurate Information Asking for an Investigation Taking Steps toward an Appeal Filing a Formal Appeal