If you’re a senior citizen and are using Medicare, you may be wondering what it doesn’t cover. After all, Medicare is supposed to help pay for your health care costs, right? Well, unfortunately, Medicare doesn’t cover everything.
Medicare doesn’t cover dental, vision, hearing, or long-term care. These are four very common misconceptions about Medicare. Many Medicare beneficiaries when they are new to Medicare assume these four items are covered under their new Medicare.
One of the most important things to understand is what Medicare doesn’t cover. This can help you make better decisions about your health and coverage. We will give you an overview of the coverage limitations and how they affect your healthcare costs. Read on to find out more!
Does Medicare Cover Dental?
First, we are going to discuss dental coverage. Medicare doesn’t cover our routine trips to the dentists and most dental care. Medicare doesn’t cover dental procedures, or supplies, like cleanings, fillings, tooth extractions, dentures, dental plates, or other dental devices. Other examples are root canals, crowns, x-rays, and much more. It is easiest to think that Medicare will not cover us for any upkeep of our mouths. However, Medicare will cover dental procedures when they are medically related to Medicare-covered items. Medicare will cover dental procedures to your mouth, for example, when you are in a car accident or other similar accident. Medicare will also cover dental procedures when they are necessary to perform other Medicare-covered events. Another example is if a tooth needs to be extracted in order to do another Medicare-covered procedure.
Does Medicare Cover Vision and Glasses?
Medicare will cover one pair of eyeglasses after cataract surgery, but it will not cover us for our routine vision maintenance. Again, it is easiest to think of it as Medicare not covering us for the vision for the maintenance of our eyes. Any routine vision exam, glasses, or contact lenses are not covered. However, Medicare again, like dental, will cover our vision when it is medically necessary. The most common example my clients have of Medicare covering their eyes is for glaucoma. Glaucoma is considered medical and not maintenance for our eyes, so procedures related to glaucoma, and other Medicare necessary items are covered by Medicare.
Does Medicare Cover Hearing Aids and Exams?
Medicare simply will not cover us to get our hearing exams or hearing aids. Again, consider this as maintenance to our hearing and not medically necessary in the eyes of Medicare. No pun intended. Well, maybe a little.
Does Medicare Cover Long-term Care?
I get this part directly from Medicare’s website medicare.gov. Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care (also called custodial care) if that’s the only care you need. Most nursing home care is custodial care. Medicare defines custodial care as Non-skilled personal care, like help with activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, eating, getting in or out of a bed or chair, moving around, and using the bathroom. It may also include the kind of health-related care that most people do themselves, like using eye drops.
In most cases, Medicare doesn’t pay for custodial care. And Medicare defines long-term care as “Services that include medical and non-medical care provided to people who are unable to perform basic activities of daily living, like dressing or bathing. Long-term supports and services can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living, or in nursing homes. Individuals may need long-term supports and services at any age. Medicare and most health insurance plans don’t pay for long-term care.”
Does Medicare Pay for Skilled Nursing Facilities?
What does get covered by Medicare is the service needed in a skilled nursing facility. Skilled Nursing covers for up to 100 days but first must be met by a 3-day inpatient hospital stay. The word inpatient is very important as sometimes when we are admitting to the hospital we may be under observation care even though we stay in the hospital overnight. I have made a detailed video on this subject and you can see the video here.
Which Part of Medicare may Include Vision, Hearing and Dental Care?
The first way to get dental, vision, and hearing covered is through a Medicare Advantage plan that offers coverage for all three. Most Medicare Advantage plans will offer some type of coverage for all three services in their core benefits. Some Medicare Advantage plans will cover dental, vision, and hearing for an additional fee to their monthly premium. View Medicare Advantage Plans in your area at our website https://medicareadvantagestore.com.
Does Medigap Cover Dental, Vision and Hearing?
Now if you don’t want to have the restrictions of doctor networks that most Medicare Advantage plans have and want to keep your Original Medicare, there are a few companies now that are offering vision, hearing, and other services in their Medicare Supplement Plans. Oftentimes these plans have very competitively priced premiums as compared to other Medicare Supplements that do not offer any additional services. View Medicare Supplement rates in your area at https://medicareratequote.com.
How to Get Coverage (Stand-Alone)
There are also stand-alone plans that can cover all three services. As independent agents, we get to look at all of the companies plans. And the best plan we have found that covers vision, hearing, and dental in one plan with one low deductible runs about $50 per month depending on where you live in the country. Generally, this plan also has no networks so you have coverage at any provider you wish to go. Click the link for further information. https://seniordentalbenefits.com or visit our dental blog at https://dentalinsuranceinsiders.com
How to Qualify for Long Term Care Insurance Coverage?
Now let’s talk about how to get Long Term Care coverage. The best way, in my opinion, to get long-term care coverage is through life insurance. However, now you might be saying I thought life insurance was for when I died. Now there are great hybrid plans that allow you to use a portion of the death benefit, many times up to 90% of the death benefit for long-term care. Significantly, if you have one of these policies and need long-term care you can access almost all of the death benefits while you are living to pay for your long-term care.
A traditional Long-Term care plan is only good for Long-Term care. If you don’t need long-term care in your lifetime, guess what, it’s a waste of money. But the new hybrid plans allow you to use the death benefit while you are still living to pay for your long-term care. Another key point, if you don’t need long-term care in your lifetime, then the death benefits are there for your heirs when you pass away. These plans are extremely versatile.
Conclusion
I hope that you enjoyed reading this article about four common misconceptions people have about Medicare. If you would like to learn more, click on the links below to find out more information! For any questions or concerns feel free to reach out and I will be happy to help in any way possible. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
About The Author — Christopher Duncan
I’m Chris Duncan, owner of Trusted Benefits Direct. As your Medicare advisor, I want you to know that my business offers superior solutions for everyone. I do not work for insurance companies, which allows me to serve you at a high level without any hidden agendas or conflicts of interest. All resources are provided at no cost because people must find peace of mind when looking ahead years down the line.
As an insurance agent, it’s my goal to make your life easier. That includes the process of securing all types of coverage for you and your loved ones, including Medicare Supplements, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, Final Expense life insurance services, and retirement security plans. You can reach me toll-free at 800-910-3382 or get a free quote on MedicareRateQuote.com with just a few clicks! Don’t forget that I also offer contact forms if you would like more information from trustedbenefitsdirect.com – click here now!
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