What Does Medicare Cover?

What Does Medicare Cover? A Quick Overview of Parts A, B, and C

Medicare makes it easier and more convenient for people who are over the age of 65 to receive healthcare coverage.

Since it also offers insurance protection to people who — even though are under 65 years of age — are suffering from a select number of diseases or who are suffering from certain disabilities, it is essentially an attempt by the government to ensure that a significant portion of vulnerable people is protected from the devastating effects of not having healthcare insurance.

However, Medicare does not cover everything. There are elaborate restrictions on what protections one can get from enrolling in a Medicare plan, and understand this, you need to look at the different parts that form the Medicare plan.

Here is a breakdown of the different parts of Medicare that will help you to understand the extent of Medicare’s coverage.

Part A

Medicare Part A covers the costs that are typically associated with receiving treatment in a hospital. It mainly covers aspects of healthcare that fall under inpatient services or services that are incidental to discharging such services.

This includes the cost of any drugs that you need to take while you are still at the hospital and some basic supplies. Any bills that relate to receiving home health care, hospice, or getting treated in a skilled nursing facility are also covered by this medicare plan.

If you are terminally ill or are grieving after suffering a loss and you need counseling or require medication or any type of service from a doctor, you can receive these services without any worry since medicare covers it.

The same applies to those that are homebound and who need any form of occupational and physical therapy.

However, it is important to note that just because a person is in a nursing home does not mean that the cost of his or her stay is covered by this section for Medicare.

If the person staying in the nursing home does not need any type of specialized care and is only there for the sake of just custodial care, the cost of this stay and other expenses will be outside what Medicare Part A covers.

Part B

Part B of Medicare deals with services that are preventative like early detection, or health care costs that are directly related to preventing disease.

A good example of these services is a flu vaccination. In addition to this, it also addresses coverage of costs that are incurred in the course of diagnosing and treating a given health condition.

Things that are covered by this part include costs relating to outpatient, inpatient, and partial hospitalizations of someone who is dealing with mental health.

Costs relating to ambulatory and clinical research services are included. While this part also covers costs relating to prescription drugs for outpatient services, the coverage that this part of Medicare offers is limited.

Part C

This part is commonly referred to as Medicare Advantage. It differs from the other parts in one major way in that plans that these parts address are usually provided by private entities and not the government.

These plans generally provide the same coverage that is provided for by the two parts above in addition to extra coverage. As a result, people tend to be motivated to opt for coverage under plans that fall under Medicare Advantage mainly because of its convenience.

The other reason why one may also want to seek coverage under this part is that it offers an increased degree of personalized healthcare insurance plans. As a result, you get the freedom to choose the services that most apply to you.

For example, there are plans specifically designed to help people with chronic health problems deal with their medical conditions, and there are also plans that specifically cater to those in need of hearing, vision, and dental services.

If you get a plan under Medicare Part C, you can receive coverage for costs relating to preventative care, prescription drugs, doctor visits, hospice care, hospitalizations, hearing problems, and dental care.

While this list offers a useful overview of what Parts A, B, and C of Medicare cover, it is important to keep in mind that what is covered by Medicare varies depending on the decisions of local companies processing Medicare claims, state laws, and Federal laws.

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