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Published:
September 9, 2024

Medicare For Dummies

Overview

Cracking the Medicare code

Medicare For Dummies is your ultimate cheat sheet to demystifying Medicare. This newly updated guide covers the latest changes in benefits, including expanded coverage for mental health and chronic pain. In simple language and clear step-by-step instructions, this bestseller walks you through the enrollment process and helps you avoid costly mistakes along the way. You'll learn how to reduce your out-of-pocket expenses, and you'll get trusted guidance on finding the perfect policy for you and your family. Find answers to all your Medicare questions—even those you wouldn't think to ask—so you can develop a solid game plan to get the most out of Medicare.

  • Learn the basics of Medicare and determine the best plan option for you
  • Reference the latest prices, coverages, and other must-know information
  • Get tips for minimizing your out-of-pocket expenses, whatever your health situation
  • Find clear and thorough guidance for navigating Medicare at any age

If you're currently enrolled in Medicare and want to maximize their benefits, or if you#re thinking about enrolling soon, Medicare For Dummies will help you better understand the often confusing process. This book is full of examples, ideas, and useful takeaways that empower you to take control of your healthcare—and your health.

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About The Author

Patricia Barry is a recognized authority on Medicare who has written extensively about the program for consumers. For nearly two decades, as a senior editor of AARP’s publications, she wrote hundreds of articles on Medicare and served as the online “Ask Ms. Medicare” columnist, answering thousands of questions sent by Medicare beneficiaries across the nation.

Sample Chapters

medicare for dummies

CHEAT SHEET

If you’re new to Medicare (or soon will be), here's information on three crucial Medicare topics: a useful list of dos and don’ts to keep in mind before you embark on the program; a quick run-through of the best times to enroll, depending on your specific circumstances; and a mini-directory of organizations that can help you with Medicare issues.

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Articles from
the book

When the prospect of becoming a Medicare beneficiary looms on the horizon, you suddenly become aware — if you’re like most people — of how little you know about the program. And even if you think you know, can you be sure that the information you have is accurate? © Jerome.Romme / Shutterstock.comBased on the questions most frequently asked, it seems a lot of perceptions about Medicare are way off base; quite often, they’re gleaned from the Internet or even mass e-mails that are deliberately designed to spread misleading information and scare seniors.
Medicare Part B covers two kinds of health services: medically necessary care and preventive care.You need to think twice about saying no to Medicare Part B coverage, even though it costs a monthly premium to use it. (If that amount would be a hardship, you may be able to have the premiums paid by your state.) It’s an important decision you need to make during the enrollment process — especially if you’re signed up automatically — and you should be very clear on how to deal with it given your situation.
If you’re new to Medicare (or soon will be), here's information on three crucial Medicare topics: a useful list of dos and don’ts to keep in mind before you embark on the program; a quick run-through of the best times to enroll, depending on your specific circumstances; and a mini-directory of organizations that can help you with Medicare issues.
Do you really need to know the details of what Parts A, B, C, and D stand for? Doesn’t Medicare just pay its share of your bills and that’s it? Well, not entirely. Medicare’s architecture is more than a tad weird, but each of its building blocks determines the coverage you get and what you pay. © Vitalii VodolazskyiBesides that, however, is the simple fact that making sense of Medicare is difficult unless you understand what Parts A, B, C, and D actually mean.
Part A and Part B form the core of Medicare. They provide the coverage that you have if you enroll in the traditional or original Medicare program that has been around since 1966, although many more services have been added since then.Parts A and B are also the basis of your coverage if you’re in a Medicare Advantage health plan, because all those plans must by law cover the same services as the traditional program, although the plans can provide extra benefits if they want to.
Although Medicare covers a multitude of medical services, it also has some yawning gaps. Some may surprise you, so the following sections address the broad areas that Medicare doesn’t normally cover, together with some tips for alternative ways of filling in the gaps. Being aware of them from the start is better than being disappointed if Medicare denies coverage after the fact.
Part D, Medicare's program for covering prescription drugs, is a complicated benefit that resembles no other type of drug coverage ever devised. That's why understanding how it works before plunging in is really important. Following is information on the peculiarities of Part D coverage — how it can fluctuate during the year, how different plans have their own lists of drugs they cover, and which drugs are excluded from Part D and which must be covered.
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Frequently Asked Questions

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