Medicare is a four-part, federally facilitated health insurance program that started back in 1965. When it was first introduced it was for people age 65 and older, now people with certain disabilities under the age of 65 or people diagnosed with End State Renal Disease (ESRD) can get Medicare too.
Original Medicare
Original Medicare is made of two ‘parts’…Part A (hospital) and Part B (medical). We call this Original Medicare because that is all that was available for many years. As time went on, new legislation was passed that eventually included Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) and Part D (Prescription Drug Plans). When you sign up for Medicare you will get a card with these two parts on it unless you are postponing Medicare Part B for a later date.