Medicare Basics: 4 Things You Need to Know
By Retirement brings with it numerous decisions to make, and Medicare can be one of the most difficult ones. Understanding the various parts, plans, and everything they cover can confuse even the savviest retirees! Here are 4 essentials you need to know about Medicare to help you make your way through the process:
When You Should Sign up For Medicare
– If you are someone who receives Social Security benefits, you automatically get enrolled in Parts A and B of Medicare. Since Part B comes with a monthly cost, you can choose to turn it down. If you choose to continue, your costs get deducted from your Social Security benefits.
– If you haven’t started receiving Social Security benefits, you will have to sign up for Medicare Parts A and B. The 7-month enrollment window begins three months before the month of your 65th birthday and ends three months after it.
– In case you’re still working and are covered under your employer’s health insurance, you must sign up for Medicare within eight months of retirement.
Free Preventive Services Offered by Medicare
Medicare beneficiaries are eligible to receive many free preventive services like:
– Annual “wellness” visits
– Free cardiovascular screenings every five years
– Annual mammograms
– Annual flu shots
– Screenings for cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancers
What Medicare Doesn’t Cover
While details about what medicare covers might be common knowledge, not everyone knows that it does not cover long-term care. Medicare might pay for hospitalization and medically necessary nursing facilities or home health care. But it generally does not cover “custodial care” costs such as dressing and bathing. Traditional Medicare also doesn’t cover costs for routine eye or dental care, hearing aids, and dentures.
Medicare Offers Telehealth
Medicare Advantage plans have offered telehealth for years, but traditional Medicare’s coverage came with certain restrictions. Patients could reach out to telehealth practitioners only via certain devices, while they were at certain Medicare facilities. But since the coronavirus pandemic, Medicare also includes telehealth so patients can consult a broader range of medical professionals using their smartphones from the comfort of their own homes. This feature is expected to become a permanent addition to the Medicare coverage. But you should know that Medicare does not offer any discounts on the use of its telehealth services.