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Medicare is our
country’s health insurance program for people age 65 or older,
certain people with disabilities who are under age 65, and
people of any age who have permanent kidney failure. It provides
basic protection against the cost of health care, but it doesn’t
cover all medical expenses or the cost of most long-term care.
Medicare is financed by a portion
of railroad retirement tier I and social security payroll
taxes paid by employees and employers. It is also financed
in part by monthly premiums paid by enrollees.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) is the agency in charge of the Medicare program.
But the Railroad Retirement Board enrolls railroad retirement beneficiaries in the program, deducts Medicare medical insurance premiums from monthly benefit payments, and assists in certain other ways.
Medicare Has Two Parts
- Hospital Insurance
(also called Medicare “Part A”), which helps pay for inpatient care in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, some home health care, and hospice care; and
- Medical Insurance
(also called Medicare “Part B”), which helps pay for doctors’ services, outpatient hospital care, and other medical services such as diagnostic tests and outpatient occupational and physical therapy.
A
Word About Medicaid
You may think that Medicaid and Medicare
are two different names for the same program. Actually, they
are two different programs. Medicaid is a State-run program
designed primarily to help those with low income and little
or no resources. The Federal Government helps pay for Medicaid,
but each State has its own rules about who is eligible and
what is covered under Medicaid. Some
people qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid.
For more information about the Medicaid
program, contact your State medical assistance office. You
can get the telephone number for your State medical assistance
office by calling the Medicare toll-free
number,1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), TTY/TDD 1-877-486-2048 for the hearing and/or
speech impaired. You can also go to www.medicare.gov
on the Internet, click on “Helpful Contacts,” and search for
your State medical assistance office under “Other Health Insurance
Programs.”
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