Also known as the Hospital Insurance (HI) program, Part A of the Medicare program covers inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing care for up to 100 days after a hospitalization, home health and hospice care. It is funded by a portion of the payroll tax: 2.9 percent,...
Also known as Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI), Part B of Medicare covers physician services, outpatient care and home health care after 100 visits. It is funded partly by premiums paid by beneficiaries. The rest comes from the federal government’s general...
An outpatient prescription drug benefit available to Medicare beneficiaries. For those who enroll, this benefit helps pay for drug costs, with catastrophic coverage for very high drug costs, and additional financial assistance through the Low-Income Subsidy (LIS)...
Established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, it is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program and, in particular, Medicare payment policy.