Understanding Medicare: Your Complete Guide

This is a reading page. It explains Medicare in four blocks. First, the four parts: Part A for inpatient hospital, skilled nursing, hospice and some home health; Part B for doctor visits, outpatient care, preventive services, durable medical equipment and mental health; Part C, the Medicare Advantage plans private insurers offer that bundle A and B, usually drug coverage, and often extras like dental and vision; and Part D for prescriptions, where the formulary differs from plan to plan.

Second, a side-by-side of Medicare Advantage against a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy: networks, referrals and an out-of-pocket maximum on one side; nationwide access to any Medicare-accepting provider plus a separate drug plan on the other.

Third, six enrollment periods: the seven-month Initial Enrollment Period around your 65th birthday, the Annual Enrollment Period from October 15 to December 7, Special Enrollment Periods, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, the General Enrollment Period, and the six-month Medigap open enrollment window, which starts the month you are both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B.

Fourth, five common questions that expand when tapped.

Nothing is asked of you here, and nothing is calculated; two of its buttons open an outside plan-comparison site. The Advantage-versus-Medigap block summarises who each tends to suit — a general comparison, not a recommendation for you. It cannot price a plan for 2026, check your drugs or your doctors, or say what you qualify for. Plan availability varies by county. IM65 is not affiliated with the federal government or Medicare; official plan details come from medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE.