Hassle-Free Health Coverage: Medicare Part A
Medicare is made up of two parts: Part A is Hospital Insurance; Part B is Medical Expense insurance.
Medicare Part A covers costs associated with inpatient care in a hospital and skilled nursing facility care after a hospital stay. It also covers home health care and hospice care. It pays for the cost of whole blood or units of packed cells, after the first three pints during a covered stay in a hospital or skilled nursing facility. In addition, it pays 80 percent of durable medical equipment -- such as wheelchairs and walkers -- when approved.
Just about every working person will receive Medicare at age 65. Under Part A, any person eligible for Social Security will automatically be eligible for hospital insurance at no charge. You will be automatically enrolled if you're receiving benefits before you reach 65 from either the Railroad Retirement Board or Social Security Administration.
Your Medicare card will be mailed to you approximately three months before your reach your 65th birthday and coverage begins on the first day of the month in which you turn 65.
Some Medicare reform efforts have suggested raising the Part A enrollment age to 67...or some other point. But these reforms remain more speculative than practical.
If you're disabled and receiving benefits from either organization for 24 months, your card will be automatically mailed as well.
However, if you're not receiving retirement benefits, you must apply directly to either the Social Security Administration or Railroad Retirement Board. Be sure to do so at least three months before you reach 65, to avoid any delays in coverage. You only have seven months to enroll, beginning three months prior to your 65th birthday; otherwise, you'll have to wait until January 1 though March 31 just to enroll. In that case, your benefits don't kick in until July 1.
So, be sure you know your dates.
You are also eligible for benefits if you are one of the following:
- a disabled person who has been receiving Social Security disability benefits for at least 24 months;
- a person who is diagnosed as having permanent kidney failure which requires dialysis or a kidney transplant;
- an individual born prior to 1909 who has no quarters of coverage under Social Security; or
- a retired railroad worker.
Furthermore, if you don't qualify for Medicare hospital insurance (you don't have the required work credits, etc.), you can buy coverage for a monthly premium. In the mid-1990s, the monthly premium was around $200.
If you plan to take this route, you must also enroll in Part B Medicare, be a resident of the United States and either a citizen or a lawfully admitted alien.
