07/02/2026
Medicare started out with two sections, Part A and Part B, which are sometimes called Original Medicare. Part A was for in-patient hospital care, and Part B was for out-patient care, like your regular doctor office visits.
Most people will not pay premiums for Part A. There is a $1736 deductible for a hospital stay. All other expenses for the first 60 days are paid by Medicare. After that, there is a $434 copayment for days 61-90, $868 for days for days 91-150, and after 150 days Medicare coverage ends. Notice that is for a hospital stay. It is possible to have more than one deductible in a year if you have more than 60 days between admissions.
Part B does have a monthly premium of $202.90 for most people, which is usually taken out of Social Security payments. Then there is an annual deductible of $283, with co-payments of 20% for most services.
If you are doing the math as you read, you probably figured out that even with Medicare, you are open to the risk of enormous medical expenses. To protect themselves, seniors have two options: Medicare Supplements (or Medigap Plans) and Medicare Advantage Plans. We will look at the supplements in the next essay.
*This information is for educational purposes only. Contact me if you need information regarding your own situation or that of a family member.
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