Medicare Coverage Choices

You can get coverage through Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage.

• Original Medicare includes Part A and Part B. It’s offered through the federal government.
• Medicare Advantage is known as Part C. It includes all the coverage of Parts A and B, plus additional benefits. Medicare Advantage plans are offered through private insurance companies approved by Medicare.

No matter which way you decide to get your coverage, you first need to enroll in Medicare. You can enroll in Medicare Part A, Part B or both, depending on your needs.

• If you enroll in just Part A or Part B, then you will receive your coverage through Original Medicare.
• If you enroll in both Parts A and B, then you can choose to receive your benefits through either Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan.

Medicare enrollment choices explained

Many people who choose Original Medicare add prescription drug coverage (Part D) and Medicare supplement insurance, but it’s not required. Most Medicare Advantage plans include this coverage plus additional benefits like vision, dental and hearing coverage—all in one plan. This two-step chart can help you decide which path you might want to take on your Medicare journey.

How Medicare parts and plans work together

You can combine different Medicare parts and plans to customize your coverage to meet your specific needs. Your choices depend on which path you take—Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage.

Coverage choices with Original Medicare Parts A and Part B

Here are the coverage choices you have:

• Medicare Parts A and B only with no additional coverage.
• Medicare Parts A and B plus a standalone prescription drug plan (Part D) to get additional coverage for your prescription drugs. You can buy a prescription drug plan from a private insurance company.
• Medicare Parts A and B plus Medicare supplement insurance to get additional coverage for some of the costs Medicare Parts A and B don’t cover. Medicare supplement insurance plans do not cover prescription drugs. There are several standardized Medicare supplement insurance plans with different benefits. You can buy a plan from a private insurance company in your state of residence.
• Medicare Parts A and B plus both a standalone prescription drug plan and Medicare supplement insurance.

Coverage choices with Medicare Advantage Part C

Here are the coverage choices you have:

• Medicare Advantage without prescription drug coverage. If you change your mind later and want Part D prescription drug coverage, you may have to pay a late enrollment penalty.
• Medicare Advantage with built-in prescription drug coverage. These plans are called MA-PD (Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug) plans. Most Medicare Advantage plans include drug coverage.

If you're enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) plan that does not include prescription drug coverage, you can buy a standalone prescription drug plan. This is the only type of Medicare Advantage plan that allows you to do this.