Most of all, you need to know that Medicare Part A provides for hospital insurance and Medicare Part B provides for medical insurance. To sum up what Medicare coverage does for you—once you enroll in Medicare, Medicare becomes the primary payer of your hospital and medical expenses. Also, you don’t have to sign up for Medicare Part C because when you are enrolled in Part A and Part B, you are qualified for coverage under Part C which is the Medicare Advantage Plan. Also, Medicare offers Part D for prescription insurance. Important note, you don’t have to sign up for the Medicare part D if you have a STRS health care plan.
You are eligible for Medicare coverage if you are 65 or over or if you have a disability or have an end-stage renal disease or disability. Another note is you don’t have to contribute to Social Security to be eligible for Medicare. However, if you don’t enroll in Medicare, you are still eligible for Medicare.
It is fairly easy to enroll for Medicare coverage. You have a seven-month enrollment time for Medicare which begins three months before and then ends three months after the month when you turn 65. It is important to sign up for Medicare Parts A & B three months before your 65th birthday so that you will have health insurance coverage without interruption. Keep in mind also that you don’t have to sign up for Part D—the prescription drug plan because the prescription drug plan in your STRS health care plan is good and will cover what you need. However, you may want to check out this plan to ensure that you have the needed coverage.