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Part A: Hospital Coverage

What’s covered

  • Inpatient care in hospitals
  • Skilled nursing facility care
  • Hospice care
  • Home health care

For most people, Medicare Part A is free. If you don’t qualify for free Part A coverage, you can buy it. Contact your local Social Security office to find out how. Or, use Medicare’s eligibility tool to see if you’ll need to pay for Part A coverage.

Part B: Medical Coverage

What’s covered

  • Inpatient and outpatient doctor visits
  • Emergency and urgent care visits
  • Medical equipment including wheelchairs and walkers
  • Diagnostic tests and lab services
  • Physical and speech therapy
  • Mental healthcare
  • Annual Wellness Visit (AWV)
  • Preventive care including flu shots, mammograms and screenings

There is a monthly cost for Part B coverage. The cost is set each year by Medicare and based on your yearly income. If you get Social Security, your monthly premium will come out of your Social Security check automatically.

Also, there are certain situations that let you delay enrolling in Medicare Part B to avoid having to pay the monthly premium.

Part C: Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage plans are available from private insurance companies. They cover all the benefits under Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). Many include prescription drug coverage (Part D) as well as additional benefits like dental, vision, and hearing.

To be eligible for a Medicare Advantage plan, you must:

  • Be enrolled in Part A and Part B
  • Continue paying your Part B premium
  • Live in the plan’s service area (CareFirst's service area includes the 50 United States, D.C. and all U.S. territories)

No two plans are alike. Since Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private insurance companies, each plan may have different out-of-pocket costs, provider networks and other features.

Part D: Prescription Drug Coverage

Part D plans cover your outpatient prescription medications, including name-brand drugs and generics.

Like Part C, Part D plans are offered by private insurance companies. They cover certain common types of drugs. However, each plan may choose which specific drugs it covers.

To be eligible for a Part D plan, you must have Part A and/or Part B. You may have to pay a Part D penalty if you don't sign up when you're first eligible or if you go 63 or more days without creditable prescription drug coverage.

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