Medicare is a government administered health insurance program for specific groups of people. The main group is people age 65 and older. It also provides medical care for some people with disabilities regardless of age and for people who have end stage renal disease which is permanent kidney failure that requires dialysis or a kidney transplant.

There are two systems within Medicare. The first system is now usually referred to Original Medicare. The alternative system is called Medicare Advantage. In this alternative system you have HMOs, PPOs and private fee-for-service plans.

For a person using the Original Medicare system, Medicare by itself generally does not cover the full cost of a person's health care. A Medicare Supplement is an insurance policy that designed to work together with Original Medicare. A person can purchase these plans from an insurer and they cover expenses not covered by Medicare. In 1992 the federal government standardized Medicare Supplement insurance plans. Most states adopted these plans and these are the only Medicare Supplement policies the insurance companies may offer in those states. There are twelve standard Medicare Supplement plans with each of the plans having a letter designation of A through L. Each of the standard plans offer different levels of coverage. The various insurance companies offering these plans are selling the same standard plans.