Medicare's annual enrollment period is now open, and many North Carolinians have questions about what they need and how to sign up. Alec Hoffman from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina joins me. Now Alec is nice to talk with you. Thanks for having me. Let's start with the basics. What is Medicare? So Medicare is an insurance program provided by the federal government covers people who are 65 older, those who are disabled or who have in stage renal disease and how do we pick a plan? So the first thing is to understand what is Medicare? And there's what's known as original Medicare. And that's part A, which covers your hospitalization services for most people. You won't pay anything for that when you turn 65. And there's also Part B, which covers your doctor services on day. For many people are most people. They will have a premium they pay every month for that. There's also a Medicare part C and D. Correct. Medicare Part C is known as Medicare advantage provided by private insurance companies, and it replaces your original Medicare covers all of the same things but has some additional benefits. Things like prescription drug coverage. Copays when you go to see the doctor and then Part D is a standalone prescription drug plan for anyone that needs prescription drug coverage. And there's also a Medicare supplement, correct. So a supplement plan fills in the gaps. So if you stick with the original Medicare, that plan will cover any gaps that is left up to you. So if you go to the doctor to get a hospital, that supplement policy will come in to cover some or all of those expenses that Medicare leads up to the individual. When do we enroll? So if you're brand new to Medicare, you have a seven month enrollment window around the month that you turn 65. If you're already on Medicare, you have your annual enrollment period starts October 15th, and it runs until December 7th so you can make any changes for the upcoming year. Okay, it's time to enroll in Medicare for people who are 65 up. Thank you so much for joining me today. Alec. You're welcome. Have a great day