AAFP Advocacy Focus: Medicare Coverage

Overview

Medicare covers most medically necessary services under its four parts:

1. Part A helps pay the costs of a stay in a hospital or a skilled nursing facility as well as for home health care, hospice care and medicines administered to inpatients.
   
2. Part B helps pay bills for physicians and outpatient services such as rehab therapy, lab tests and medical equipment. It also covers doctors' services in the hospital and most medicines administered in a doctor's office.
   
3. Part C consists of a variety of private health plans, known as Medicare Advantage plans, that cover Part A, Part B and (often) Part D services in one package.
   
4. Part D helps pay the cost of prescription drugs, plus insulin supplies and some vaccines.

The AAFP advocates for primary care physicians and their patients by calling for expanded health care coverage.

Why We Fight

Medicare is a key component in making sure health care is affordable and attainable. Supporting the expansion of Medicare aligns with the Academy's policy to ensure health care coverage for everyone in the U.S. through a foundation of comprehensive and longitudinal primary care.

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