Updated November 19, 2019 Philip Moeller
Author, Get What's
Yours books on Social Security. Medicare, and, upcoming, Health Care; blogger
for PBS NewsHour; founder http://Insure.com .
Medicare is known for
generous coverage when it comes to basic medical care costs. When it comes to
coverage of dental, vision and hearing costs, however, it’s another matter.
In this week’s reader
question, Phil Moeller, the author of Get
What’s Yours for Medicare: Maximize Your Coverage, Minimize Your Costs and
co-author of the updated edition of How
to Get What’s Yours: The Revised Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security,
explains exactly what benefits Medicare offers in those areas—and the best way
to get more coverage.
Got a question of
your own about Medicare or Social Security? Send it to askphil@considerable.com.
Mike, Texas: I will turn 65 next
year and understand Medicare does not cover vision, hearing and dental needs.
How would you suggest Medicare recipients cover these requirements?
Phil Moeller: This question
highlights one of the major missing pieces of basic Medicare coverage. And it’s
a big deal. The failure to get regular care in any of these areas can lead to
serious health issues in later life that could cost a lot of money, not to
mention reducing the quality of life in those later years.
Parts A and B of Medicare will cover some surgeries
involving these needs but not routine and ongoing care. Here are explanations
from the agency’s website of what it does and doesn’t cover.
Vision
Medicare doesn’t
cover routine eye exams (sometimes called “eye refractions”) for eyeglasses or
contact lenses. Medicare Part B covers some surgical, preventive and diagnostic
eye exams:
- Yearly eye exam but only for those with diabetes.
- Glaucoma tests for people at high risk for
glaucoma.
- Macular degeneration for those with this
condition.
- Cataract surgery (including a pair of corrective
lenses if required after surgery).
Hearing
Medicare Part B
covers diagnostic hearing and balance exams if your doctor or other health care
provider orders these tests to see if you need medical treatment.
Medicare doesn’t
cover hearing exams, hearing aids or exams for fitting hearing aids.
Dental
Medicare doesn’t
cover most dental care, dental procedures or supplies, like cleanings,
fillings, tooth extractions, dentures, dental plates or other dental devices.
Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) will pay for certain dental services that
you get when you’re in a hospital. Part A can pay for inpatient hospital care
if you need to have emergency or complicated dental procedures even though the
dental care isn’t covered.
More options for
coverage
Although basic
Medicare does not cover these items, many Medicare Advantage plans do. So you may want to take a
look at Medicare Advantage plans available where you live and look at their
coverage of these items.
Many people like
basic Medicare because it allows them great freedom in choosing their doctors,
other care providers and hospitals. Medicare Advantage plans usually require
their customers to use providers within the plan’s network or pay higher costs
for out-of-network care. If basic Medicare is attractive to you, then you’d
need to look elsewhere for your vision, hearing and dental insurance. There are
private insurance plans outside of Medicare that will cover these items through
separate insurance policies.
This may seem like a
lot of work. But if you sit down at your computer and search for available
policies, you can quickly get an idea of costs. You can also find an insurance
broker who can quickly compare several policies for you and generate a quote
for the coverage options you want.
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