The oldest batch of baby boomers is turning 65 this year. They have a lot to think about, from navigating Medicare to effective diet and exercise. Here’s where to start.

Medicare is broken down into four parts:

Part A: Pays for hospital bills for the first two months if you’re hospitalized. Then you start paying a daily co-pay after that. Annual deductible: $1,132.

Part B: Pays 80 percent of your doctor visits. It also helps cover other services, like mental health and medical equipment. Monthly premiums start at $115 and go up to $370, based on income. Annual deductible: $162. Parts A and B together are known as “Original Medicare.”

Part D: Optional prescription drug coverage offered by insurance companies. Most Medicare recipients enroll in Part D. Monthly premiums in North Carolina: from $15 to $113 a month. plus deductibles and co-pays.

Supplemental insurance, or Medigap: Experts say you should strongly consider optional coverage sold by insurance companies to help cover the patient portions of bills and some other services. Most Medicare users buy this. N.C. monthly premiums: from about $68 to $288.

Medicare Advantage: Also known as Part C, it’s private insurance approved by Medicare. Only one in four go this route, mostly because there’s less flexibility. It combines coverage of hospitalization, doctor care and usually, prescriptions. These plans sometimes cover services that original Medicare doesn’t, like hearing, dental and vision care. Benefits can change from year to year. Monthly premiums: from $0 to $198, plus deductibles, and co-pays.

Getting signed up. If you’ll be receiving Social Security benefits at 65, you’ll automatically be signed up for Medicare. A questionnaire should arrive in the mail three months before your birthday. If you delay your Social Security benefits past 65, you have to sign up for Medicare.

Working past 65? Check with your employer (or with your spouse’s insurance provider) to find out if the company will continue being your primary provider. If so, you can delay enrolling in Part B. When you stop working, you have eight months to sign up before you start getting penalized. For each year you go uninsured and don’t sign up for Part B, you face 10 percent higher premiums when you do enroll.

More on prescription drugs: Even if you’re not taking medications now, signing up for Part D could save you lots of money if you get sick later. And if you don’t sign up for Part D in your initial enrollment period, you’ll pay more if you choose it later. It’s one of the trickiest parts of Medicare, with 33 plans to choose from in N.C.

And plans can change from year to year. For example, medications can be dropped and costs can increase. It’s your responsibility to keep track of plan changes. The annual enrollment period for Part D is Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.

Beware of the “doughnut hole.” When the combined cost that you and your insurance company pay for your medications hits $2,840, you’re in the doughnut hole. From that point on, you pay the full cost of your medications. But when you hit the $4,500 mark, you just pay 5 percent of your drug costs until the end of the year. Beginning this year as part of national health care reforms, Medicare recipients in the donut hole are getting half off brand-name drugs. It’s part of a plan to close the donut hole by 2020.

Not covered by Medicare: Most dental and vision care, hearing aids. Also, many experts expect everyone will pay more for Medicare as costs increase and the U.S. struggles to control spending and debt.

Get screened and immunized. The “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit is a free physical and evaluation that’s available within the first year of signing up for Part B. Dr. Stephen Powell, a physician with Presbyterian Senior Healthcare in Charlotte, recommends screening for colon cancer, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. For women, he recommends mammograms and bone density tests. Doctors recommend immunizing against pneumonia, the flu, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and shingles. Take advantage of a new yearly preventive “wellness” visit that comes free with Medicare.

Eat your greens and take your vitamins. Doctors suggest eating green vegetables and plenty of fiber. Take a daily multivitamin and 1,000 units of vitamin D. Women should take a calcium supplement.

It’s never too late to exercise. Dr. Kenneth Lyles, professor of medicine at Duke University, recommends exercising at least five days a week for 30 minutes and alternating between aerobic and strength-building workouts. Exercise – including walking – helps improve balance, and develops bone, muscle, and brain mass. It also reduces the chances of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and depression.

Medicare resources

For more help navigating the Medicare maze.

Agencies and organizations

State Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP): In N.C., www.ncdoi.com/shiip/default.asp; 800-443-9354. In S.C., http://aging.sc.gov/Pages/default.aspx; 800-868-9095.

Local senior centers can be a great resource.

NC MedAssist: www.medassist.org; 704-536-1790.

Medicare Rights Center: A New York nonprofit with a consumer hotline. www.medicarerights.org; 800-333-4114.

AARP: A nonprofit membership organization dedicated to people 50 and over: http://aarp.us/fCTCST; 888-687-2277.

Medicare guides

Medicare and You: The Official Medicare Handbook. http://1.usa.gov/cy2qOQ; 800-633-4227.

Understanding Medicare: Published by AARP;

http://aarp.us/hhL16t.

The Road to Medicare (State Health Insurance Information Program publication): 800-443-9354; http://bit.ly/qH2xvK.

Medicare: 6 Things You Need to Know Now (Consumer Reports): http://bit.ly/mk09zF.

Medicare Interactive (Medicare Rights Center publication). www.medicareinteractive.org.

Other resources

Just1Call: a one-stop source of information and assistance for seniors and adults with disabilities living in Mecklenburg County, N.C., as well as their families and caregivers.

(http://bit.ly/cXkcNH; 704-432-1111)

The Council on Aging: (http://www.charmeckcoa.org;

704-391-5216)

Resources for Seniors: www.resourcesforseniors.com;

919-713-1556.

Need help with the cost?

The following programs can help you pay your Medicare costs.

Extra Help, or the Low-Income Subsidy: a federal program that helps Medicare recipients pay for prescription drug coverage. Contact Social Security; http://1.usa.gov/fQULBY; 800-772-1213.

Medicare Savings Programs: State programs that help Medicare costs. In N. C., http://1.usa.gov/n4fKBe; 800-662-7030.

NC MedAssist: a nonprofit that provides free prescription medications to the uninsured throughout North Carolina and helps people on Medicare pay for medication if they reach the doughnut hole, or their limit with Part D coverage.