Medicare has four parts. Part A covers the hospital. Part B covers doctors and outpatient care. Part D covers prescription drugs. Part C, called Medicare Advantage, is a private plan that bundles A and B and usually D into one card. Most people also add either a Supplement or an Advantage plan, because A and B alone leave you with 20 percent of every doctor bill and no cap on the total.
Part A: hospital
Part A pays for inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing after a hospital stay, hospice and some home health care. It is free for almost everyone who worked and paid Medicare taxes for ten years. It has a deductible per benefit period, $1,736 in 2026.
Part B: doctors and outpatient
Part B covers doctor visits, outpatient surgery, lab work, imaging, durable equipment and preventive care. It has a monthly premium, $202.90 for most people in 2026, and an annual deductible of $283. After the deductible, Medicare pays 80 percent and you pay 20 percent, with no yearly limit.
That 20 percent with no limit is the reason nobody should stop at A and B.
Part D: prescriptions
Part D is a drug plan from a private insurer, either on its own or built into an Advantage plan. Every plan has its own list of covered drugs and its own pharmacy network, which is why I check your prescriptions against each plan before recommending one. Since 2025 there is a yearly cap on what you pay for covered drugs. For 2026 it is $2,100.
Part C: Medicare Advantage
An Advantage plan replaces the way you receive A and B. A private company administers your benefits, usually with a network of doctors, copays as you go, a yearly out-of-pocket maximum, and extras like dental, vision and hearing. Premiums are low, often $0, on top of the Part B premium you still pay.
Medigap: the piece people forget
A Medicare Supplement, or Medigap, is not a lettered part. It is a private policy that pays the deductibles and the 20 percent that Original Medicare leaves behind. You keep any doctor in the country who takes Medicare. You pay a monthly premium, and you add a separate Part D plan.
The real decision for most people is Supplement or Advantage. Read the comparison, or request a plan check and we walk through it for your doctors and your budget.