While Medicare is a single health insurance program, it’s made up of different parts. To get the most out of your Medicare coverage, you need to understand the relationship among these parts.
When it comes to selecting the best Medicare coverage, you have many different options. You may combine some parts, while others are designed to stand alone.
The chart below explores the benefits you get with the most popular combinations of Medicare coverage available. Each column represents a unique grouping of Medicare options. And each row represents a benefit or perk that comes with a particular type of coverage.
Let’s get to know what you get from the different combinations. That’s the first step in choosing the coverage that’s right for you. Learn more about each part of Medicare.
| Parts A + B (Original Medicare)* | Parts A + B + D | Parts A + B + D + Medicare Supplement | Part C (Medicare Advantage) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital coverage |
|
|
|
|
| Visits to doctors and other health care professionals |
|
|
|
|
| Preventive care coverage |
|
|
|
|
| Prescription drug coverage | No data available |
|
|
Yes, in some plans |
| Coverage while traveling abroad | No data available | No data available |
Yes, with some Medicare Supplement plans | Some plans include emergency coverage abroad |
| Coverage of routine dental services | No data available | No data available | No data available |
Yes, in some plans |
| Coverage of routine vision and hearing services | No data available | No data available | No data available |
Yes, in some plans |
| Fitness membership benefits | No data available | No data available | No data available |
Yes, in some plans |
| Out-of-pocket maximum protection | No data available | No data available | No data available |
|
| Parts A + B (Original Medicare)* | |
|---|---|
| Hospital coverage |
|
| Visits to doctors and other health care professionals |
|
| Preventive care coverage |
|
| Prescription drug coverage | No data available |
| Coverage while traveling abroad | No data available |
| Coverage of routine dental services | No data available |
| Coverage of routine vision and hearing services | No data available |
| Fitness membership benefits | No data available |
| Out-of-pocket maximum protection | No data available |
| Parts A + B + D | |
|---|---|
| Hospital coverage |
|
| Visits to doctors and other health care professionals |
|
| Preventive care coverage |
|
| Prescription drug coverage |
|
| Coverage while traveling abroad | No data available |
| Coverage of routine dental services | No data available |
| Coverage of routine vision and hearing services | No data available |
| Fitness membership benefits | No data available |
| Out-of-pocket maximum protection | No data available |
| Parts A + B + D + Medicare Supplement | |
|---|---|
| Hospital coverage |
|
| Visits to doctors and other health care professionals |
|
| Preventive care coverage |
|
| Prescription drug coverage |
|
| Coverage while traveling abroad |
Yes, with some Medicare Supplement plans |
| Coverage of routine dental services | No data available |
| Coverage of routine vision and hearing services | No data available |
| Fitness membership benefits | No data available |
| Out-of-pocket maximum protection | No data available |
| Part C (Medicare Advantage) | |
|---|---|
| Hospital coverage |
|
| Visits to doctors and other health care professionals |
|
| Preventive care coverage |
|
| Prescription drug coverage |
Yes, in some plans |
| Coverage while traveling abroad | Some plans include emergency coverage abroad |
| Coverage of routine dental services |
Yes, in some plans |
| Coverage of routine vision and hearing services |
Yes, in some plans |
| Fitness membership benefits |
Yes, in some plans |
| Out-of-pocket maximum protection |
|
Print coverage comparison chart
A quick guide to Medicare coverage combinations on the chart
- Parts A and B: Also called Original Medicare, Part A covers services for hospital stays and similar inpatient procedures. And Part B includes coverage for doctor visits and other procedures that don’t require an overnight stay in the hospital.
- Part C: Also called Medicare Advantage, Part C ismade up of plans approved by Medicare. Private insurance companies offer these plans.Medicare Advantage plans usually include a network of health care providers. Some require you to use their network of providers while others allow you to go out-of-network, usually for a higher cost.
- Part D: This part of Medicare provides prescription drug benefits.
- Medicare Supplement plan: Private insurance companies provide these plans that work with Original Medicare. These plans help cover some of the costs associated with it.
A quick guide to benefits on the chart
- Hospital coverage: Benefits for hospital stays and inpatient procedures.
- Visits to doctors and other health care professionals: Coverage for seeing a health care professional as an outpatient.
- Preventive care coverage: Benefits like annual physical exams, certain vaccines and some health screenings.
- Prescription drug coverage: Benefits for prescription medication.
- Coverage while traveling abroad: Benefits for medical care received outside the United States.
- Dental coverage: Benefits for routine care for your teeth.
- Vision coverage: Benefits for routine care for your eyesight.
- Hearing coverage: Benefits for routine care for your hearing.
- Fitness membership benefits: Benefits for gym or fitness club memberships.
- Out-of-pocket maximum protection: A benefit that protects you from paying more than a certain amount for your covered medical care each year.
* Medicare Parts A and B do not include prescription drug coverage, which is provided through Medicare Part D. You are not required to enroll in Medicare Part D. However, if you do not have prescription drug coverage through another plan and choose not to enroll in Part D when you first become eligible, you could end up paying a penalty for late enrollment if you decide to enroll in Part D later.
Learn more about potential penalties
About the author
Mark Pabsthas worked as a writer and researcher in the health care field for almost two decades. When not writing about health he tries to stay healthy through activities like hiking, climbing and paddling in the far flung corners of his native state of California. However, despite his best efforts he still has a few unhealthy habits he can’t shake, most notably a weakness for jelly donuts.
