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Many pre-retirees are uncertain about their choices when it comes to enrolling in Medicare. There are 2 main ways to get your coverage - you can choose the traditional fee-for-service Medicare, known as Original Medicare, or a Medicare Advantage plan.  Medicare Advantage plans are similar to an HMO, which stands for Health Maintenance Organization or a PPO, which stands for Preferred Provider Organization. Original Medicare consists of Part A - Hospital Insurance for in-hospital care, and Part B Medical Insurance for outpatient services like doctor visits and lab tests.  Medicare Advantage, known as Part C, is a managed care option that rolls all the different parts of Medicare into one. There may be extra coverage like dental and vision. And everyone on Medicare is eligible for prescription drug coverage either from a Part D plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan offering drug coverage. (01:18)

Medicare Supplement plans – also known as Medigap plans – are designed to cover some of the costs that Original Medicare doesn’t. These costs include things like copayments, coinsurance and deductibles. Some Medigap plans also offer certain benefits that Original Medicare doesn’t like emergency foreign travel expenses. Medigap plans don’t cover your costs under other health plans – including Medicare Advantage Plans – but only the costs that Original Medicare doesn’t cover.  Here’s how it works. If you have Original Medicare and a Medigap policy, Medicare will pay its share of the Medicare-approved amount for a covered service. Then, your Medigap policy pays its share. But Medicare doesn’t pay any of the costs of purchasing the policy.   Medigap Plans differ from Medicare Advantage Plans in an important way. Medicare Advantage Plans are just an alternative way to get your Medicare Plan A and B benefits. Medigap Plans are solely designed to cover costs that Original Medicare doesn’t cover. In fact, insurance companies generally can’t sell you a Medigap Plan if you are already covered by a Medicare Advantage Plan or Medicaid. Medigap Plans are required to follow all federal and state consumer protection laws and policies must be clearly identified as “Medicare Supplement Insurance.” Medigap Plans in most states are standardized, and identified by Plan letters A through N. Each standardized state Medigap plan under the same plan letter must offer the same basic benefits, no matter what insurance company sells it. Usually, the only difference between Medigap policies with the same plan letter is the cost charged by different insurance companies… so you can comparison shop!