This course marks the beginning of your journey in navigating the world of Medicare. First you will become familiar with health insurance terms and concepts that are essential to understanding Medicare. You will use this vocabulary to access and describe more complicated topics as we move through the MI Pro core curriculum. Terms and concepts we’ll cover include premiums, deductibles, coinsurances, copayments; distinctions between private and public health insurance; the three categories of providers for Original Medicare; differences between in-network and out-of-network for Medicare Advantage Plans; non-doctor types of health care providers; differences between hospital inpatients and outpatients; kinds of Medicare-covered therapy and types of care; and important notices that Medicare beneficiaries will receive before or after receiving a health care service or item.

This course is currently W3C WCAG 2.0 AA conformant.

Medicare is a complex and evolving program. This course provides a basic introduction to this health insurance program for individuals 65 and older and people with certain disabilities, with a look into the different parts of the program. You’ll learn how Medicare can be administered publicly (Original Medicare) or privately (Medicare Advantage) and explore program eligibility rules for individuals due to age or disability, including coverage for individuals with ALS and End-Stage Renal Disease. We’ll also review the roles of the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and see how the Medicare and Medicaid programs can work together.

This course is currently W3C WCAG 2.0 AA conformant.

This course focuses on important Medicare enrollment periods, which are times during the year when an individual can sign up for Medicare for the first time or make changes to existing Medicare coverage. We will also review the penalties that one can incur for not enrolling in Medicare when first eligible, underscoring the importance of making timely Medicare decisions and helping individuals consider their coverage options. Enrollment periods covered in this course include the Initial Enrollment Period, General Enrollment

Period, Special Enrollment Period, and Fall Open Enrollment Period. This course is currently W3C WCAG 2.0 AA conformant.

In this course, you will learn about the coverage and costs under Original Medicare Part A, also known as hospital insurance. You will learn about key areas of Part A coverage: inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facility care, home health care, and hospice care. We’ll also explore cost components for Part A, including what constitutes premium-free Part A for beneficiaries or their spouses based on work history, what determines a benefit period and how the Part A deductible applies to each period, and how coinsurances may apply for Part A-covered services, depending on what type of service is received.