Introduction 1Part 1: Getting Started with Medicare 7Chapter 1: The Nuts and Bolts of Medicare: What It Is and How It Works 9Chapter 2: Spelling Out What Medicare Covers (A Lot, but Not Everything) 19Chapter 3: Understanding What You Pay Toward Your Costs in Medicare 45Chapter 4: Reducing Your Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Medicare 63Part 2: The Hows and Whens of Medicare 93Chapter 5: Qualifying for Medicare 95Chapter 6: Enrolling in Medicare at the Right Time for You 111Chapter 7: Discovering How to Sign Up for Medicare 145Chapter 8: Understanding How Medicare Fits In with Other Health Insurance 169Part 3: Making Smart Choices among Medicare's Many Options 193Chapter 9: Making Sense of Medicare's Many Options 195Chapter 10: Choosing Wisely If You Go with Traditional Medicare 215Chapter 11: Making Smart Choices If You Opt for Medicare Advantage 241Chapter 12: Getting Help in Making Medicare Choices 255Part 4: Navigating Medicare from the Inside 269Chapter 13: Starting Out as a New Medicare Beneficiary 271Chapter 14: Getting the Inside Scoop on Using Certain Medicare Benefits 301Chapter 15: Changing Your Medicare and Medigap Coverage 331Chapter 16: Knowing Your Rights 351Part 5: The Part of Tens 367Chapter 17: Top Ten Medicare Mistakes 369Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Stay Healthier beyond Age 65 377Part 6: Appendixes 385Appendix A: Sources of Help and Information 387Appendix B: Glossary 399Index 405
Patricia Barry is a recognized authority on Medicare who has written extensively about the program for consumers. For nearly two decades, as a senior editor of AARP's publications, she wrote hundreds of articles on Medicare and served as the online "Ask Ms. Medicare" columnist, answering thousands of questions sent by Medicare beneficiaries across the nation.
