The book is primarily intended for Seniors who are just starting with Medicare. It describes the various options for health coverage from which the senior can choose. It includes a discussion of how Medicare Parts A and B work with an Employee retirement plan, what Medigap is and what it pays for, the Prescription Drug Plan Part D benefit, and finally, how Medicare Advantage Part C replaces Medicare. For each of the options, the book details what is covered, what is not covered, and the costs of the coverage. Appendices at the end of the book give references to other sources of information for a more in-depth analysis, or for less common questions.
As a general aid to all seniors, the book presents an example of the use of the Medicare "Planfinder". The Planfinder is the Medicare web interface for finding a Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) tailored to the seniors needs. A second example shows the senior how to see an unbiased, salesman free, comparative analysis of competing Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans.
Additional tables in the Appendix show what changes will occur between 2011 and 2012.