What would you like help with?
Start with your situation, or explore how your coverage fits together.
I’m turning 65, what now?
Check your enrollment dates, current coverage, and what to do first.
More Medicare questions
You may be able to delay Part B if you have group health coverage through your or your spouse’s current employment. Working by itself is not enough.
What changes the answer: The coverage type, employer size, and which insurance pays first matter. COBRA and retiree coverage do not extend the Part B enrollment period tied to leaving a job. HSA contributions and creditable drug coverage need separate checks.
Official sources
Parts A and B cover hospital and medical care. They do not cover every service or all of your costs. Drug coverage and other insurance can fill different needs.
What changes the answer: Your current insurance, medicines, and care needs matter. Original Medicare can work with a Supplement and separate Part D. Advantage is another way to get Medicare benefits, usually including drug coverage.
Official sources
Look at both the monthly premiums and what you pay when you use care, including deductibles, copays, and coinsurance.
What changes the answer: The year, plan, services you use, and eligibility for help change the total. Income can also affect Medicare premiums. A low premium does not tell you the whole cost.
Check the exact coverage you are considering. A familiar carrier name does not guarantee that a particular doctor or medicine is covered.
What changes the answer: The plan and year, provider network, drug list, pharmacy, and coverage rules matter. With Original Medicare, check whether the doctor accepts Medicare.
Compare how you get care, what you pay, and the rules you would need to follow. These are different ways to arrange coverage.
What changes the answer: Your doctors, medicines, travel, budget, and enrollment timing matter. A Supplement helps with Original Medicare costs; it does not work with Advantage. Buying a Supplement later may involve health questions or depend on protected enrollment rights.
Often, but not anytime and not always on the same terms.
What changes the answer: Advantage and Part D changes have enrollment windows and special situations. Medigap has different rules: outside protected periods, an insurer may ask health questions or deny an application. State protections can differ.
Help may be available for Medicare costs and prescriptions. An unexpected bill also deserves a closer look before you assume it is correct.
What changes the answer: Savings programs depend on your state and financial circumstances. For a bill or denial, the notice, coverage type, and appeal deadline matter. If covered care is about to end, ask about a fast appeal right away.
Official sources checked . Check current amounts and plan details before making a decision.
Hawkins Insurance Group, LLC is not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
How Medicare fits together
Parts A and B
Original Medicare
Parts A and B cover hospital and medical care. Medicare pays part of the cost of covered services, and you pay your share.
Explore Original MedicareYou can add
Alongside Original Medicare
Supplement and drug coverage
Also called Medigap. Helps pay your share of costs for services covered by Parts A and B.
A separate plan for prescription drugs. Each plan has its own list of covered drugs and costs.
Medicare Advantage
A private plan that provides your Part A and Part B benefits, usually with drug coverage. Check the plan’s network and coverage rules.
Source: Medicare coverage options
Prefer to watch?
Watch an introduction to Original Medicare, then explore the topics that matter to you.
Where extra coverage fits
- Dental, vision & hearing
Standalone dental plans covering preventive, basic, and major services up to an annual maximum benefit. Original Medicare does not cover routine dental, and Marketplace health plans leave out adult dental.
- Hospital indemnity
Hospital indemnity pays fixed daily cash benefits during hospital stays to help offset deductibles, coinsurance, travel, or lost income that medical insurance doesn't cover.
- Cancer
Cancer insurance pays a lump-sum cash benefit upon first qualifying cancer diagnosis. Use the money for anything: treatment costs, travel, bills, or income replacement.
- Life insurance for final expenses
Permanent whole life coverage sized for final expenses, legacy gifts, and debt protection. Level premiums and a death benefit that never decreases.
Individuals & Families
- Health (Marketplace)
ACA plans are the major medical coverage you buy on your own through the Marketplace. If your income qualifies, a subsidy lowers what you pay each month. Here is how it works and who it fits.
- Affordable Choice
Affordable Choice is a budget-friendly health plan for people the Marketplace does not fit. It pays set benefits for things like hospital stays and surgery, often for a lower monthly cost than full-price ACA.
- Health insurance for the self-employed
When you work for yourself, you are also your own benefits department. Here are your real options for health coverage, plus a tax break most 1099 workers can use.
- Life insurance for families
Life insurance pays your family a sum, generally not taxed, if you pass away. There are two main kinds: term, which is temporary and low-cost, and whole, which lasts for life and builds value. Here is how to choose.