Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage Plans) is another way to get your Medicare benefits. It combines Part A, Part B, and sometimes Part D (prescription drug) coverage. Medicare Advantage Plans are managed by private insurance companies approved by Medicare. These plans must cover medically-necessary services.

Medicare C is reported on Form 1099-SA Distributions from an HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA. The amount included in income is the amount not used to pay medical expenses. Generally, if you receive a taxable distribution, you must also pay an additional tax on the amount included in income. The additional tax for Medicare Advantage MSAs is 50%.

To enter or review information from Form 1099-SA:

1. From within your TaxAct return (Online or Desktop), click Federal (on smaller devices, click in the top left corner of your screen, then click Federal).
2. Click the Other Income dropdown, then click MSA Distributions (Form 1099-SA).
3. Click + Add Form 1099-SA to create a new copy of the form or click Edit to edit a form already created (desktop program: click Review instead of Edit).
4. Continue with the interview process to enter your information.

Per the SSA Who can get Medicare? publication, page 5:

Medicare Advantage plans

If you receive your Part A and Part B benefits directly from the government, you have Original Medicare. If you receive your benefits from a Medicare Advantage organization or other private company approved by Medicare, you have a Medicare Advantage plan. Many of these plans provide extra coverage and may lower your out-of-pocket costs.

If you have Medicare Parts A and B, you can join a Medicare Advantage plan. With these plans, you can’t have a Medigap policy, because Medicare Advantage plans cover many of the same benefits a Medigap policy covers. This includes benefits like extra days in the hospital after you’ve used the days that Medicare covers.

Medicare Advantage plans include all of the following:

• Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans.
• Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans.
• Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) plans.
• Special Needs Plans (SNPs).

If you decide to join a Medicare Advantage plan, you use the health card that you get from your Medicare Advantage plan provider for your health care. Also, you might have to pay a monthly premium for your Medicare Advantage plan because of the extra benefits it offers.

Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the webpage or document at the time it is accessed.