Last week I mentioned that long-term insurance policies can be helpful because Medicare simply doesn't cover all your healthcare expenses as you age. But let's say you're not planning on moving into a retirement home - so you're assuming that if you live with family, Medicare should cover it, right? Wrong.
You should know more about what Medicare supplemental insurance can do for you before making any decisions. Also known as, Medicare 'gap insurance,' it does exactly that: It fills the gaps left by a Medicare system that simply doesn't cover everything you need from your healthcare.
In this week's column, I'll answer the most common questions people have about their Medicare coverage, and what a Medicare insurance policy can do to help:
What Does Medicare Cover?
There are two kinds of Medicare coverage, Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B. Medicare Part A is hospital care insurance and will cover:
- In-hospital care, skilled-nursing care after a hospital stay (but for a limited amount of time), and hospice care
Medicare Part B is a more general medical care insurance, and covers:
- Outpatient hospital care
- Clinical laboratory treatment (such as blood work and other lab tests)
- General medical expenses, including doctor visits
Like Medicare Part A, however, Medicare Part B has specific limits on how much of each of these kinds of care it will cover. A good rule of thumb is that Medicare Part B generally covers about 80 percent of your expenses in each of these categories.
If I Don't Live in a Nursing Home, Why Do I Need Medicare Gap Insurance? As I mentioned last week, long-term nursing care is only covered for a limited amount of time under Medicare, and help with daily activities, such as dress and eating, is never covered by Medicare - that's where long-term care insurance really helps. But if you're living independently or with family, Medicare gap insurance can still help you cover that extra 20 percent that Medicare doesn't touch. It also supplements Medicare by covering preventive services (annual physicals), prescription drugs, vision and hearing care, and other services not covered by Medicare.
What Will Medicare Supplemental Insurance Help With?
To recap, Medicare gap insurance plans, all approved by your state government and provided by private companies, will cover the following categories of care not covered by standard Medicare Part A or Medicare Part B insurance plans:
- Preventive health care services, such as annual physicals
- Prescription drug services
- Vision exams and glasses
- Hearing exams and hearing aid supplies
- Out-of-pocket Medicare deductibles and co-pays
- Some will even cover emergency doctors' visits in foreign countries
About the Author
Alison Overholt is a freelance writer based in New York. She holds a degree in government, with honors, from Harvard University and writes frequently about business, travel, and lifestyle subjects for national magazines and other publications.
