Empower Brokerage’s Senior Product Specialist, John Shinn, discusses the importance of knowing what is not covered by Medicare.
What does Medicare Part A and Part B not cover?
As we know, Medicare does not cover everything. To learn more about what is covered and not covered under Medicare, we recommend consulting the government’s annual publication ‘Medicare And You,’ the official guide to Medicare. This is one of the only places where you can find all the answers aside from Medicare.gov. There are a lot of things that aren’t covered by Medicare Part A and Part B (original Medicare) that you need to know about. If you receive a service or treatment that isn’t covered, you will have to pay for these services yourself unless you have other insurance or Medicaid.
Note that things like deductibles, co-insurance, co-pays, and the like– you normally have to pay those if even the services are covered.
Some of the services not under Original Medicare Part A and Part B include:
- Long-term care (sometimes referred to as custodial care) in a nursing facility or at home.
- Dentures are usually not covered under Medicare.
- Acupuncture is normally not covered.
- Cosmetic surgery is not covered. The purpose of a surgery must be medical in nature, not just cosmetic.
- Hearing aids are not under Medicare, but Medicaid may cover some part of them.
It’s very important that you know what Medicare doesn’t cover. We spend a lot of time talking about what Medicare does cover under Part A and Part B, but knowing what they don’t cover is just as important that so you are well informed. A good place to go for more details is Medicare.gov, your Medicare provider, or of course, you can contact us here Empower Brokerage.
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section below.
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