Summary: What is Medicare: Part B? What does it cover? What does it not cover? What are the costs?
What does Medicare Part B cover?
Medicare is defined according to Medicare.gov (the official site for Medicare) as “the federal health insurance program for people who are age 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Failure (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant, sometimes called ERSD)”.
This article is part of a series of articles:
- Medicare Overview
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
- Medicare Part C
- Medicare Part D
- Medicare Part E? Medicare Supplements
What does Medicare Part B cover?
Medicare Part B covers services that are either medically necessary or preventative. Specific services may include: ambulance services, durable medical equipment, clinical research, mental health, getting a second opinion before surgery, and limited outpatient prescription drugs.
What do Medicare Part A and B not cover?
Neither Part A or Part B cover services such as:
- Long-term care
- Routine dental or eye care
- Dentures
- Cosmetic surgery
- Acupuncture
- Hearing Aids
- Routine footcare
What are the premiums for Part B?
Premiums for Part B are determined based upon income levels.
| Individual Annual Income | Joint Annual Income | Monthly Premium 2012 |
| Less than $85,000 | Less than $170,000 | $99.90 |
| Between $85,000 and $107,000 | Between $170,000 and $214,000 | $139.90 |
| Between $107,000 and $160,000 | Between $214,000 and $320,000 | $199.80 |
| Between $160,000 and $240,000 | Between $320,000 and $428,000 | $259.70 |
The next few articles will delve into each part of Medicare and outline the coverage as well as the costs. Medicare has become very complex and a refresher on exactly which parts cover which areas might help to provide clarification.
Open Enrollment
Don’t forget open enrollment for Medicare is October 15-December 7, 2012. This is your time to make any changes to your Medicare plans as well as enroll in additional plans.
Comments
We invite all comments in regard to this article. What are your thoughts on Medicare? What are your thoughts on the Affordable Care Act and Medicare? Do you think the system is working? Do you think Medicare should be regulated and administered at the individual state level? How will the healthcare insurance exchanges impact Medicare?
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