Part A & Part B

I prefer not to mention insurance carriers by name for various reasons, but as Medicare is a government funded program it's benefits are the same across the board for anyone...

If you have Medicare it's important to understand the difference between part A and part B.  Medicare part A covers medical expenses for hospital services, skilled nursing, and home health and part B covers expenses for medical services at doctor's offices, out patient services, DME, & some home health.  

On several occasions we have had patients that tell us they have Medicare coverage and no supplement and when they get to our office and we see the card we discover they only have part A.  This of course means they have to be considered a self pay patient.  

There are deductibles to meet for both part A and part B Medicare.

Deductible amounts for Medicare 2010:

Part A  $1100

Part B $155

Once the deductible amount is met it goes over to co insurance, which means 20% of the allowable charges is patient responsibility. For extended hospital stays it's a little different, you pay a certain amount per day after so many days. 

Helpful link about premiums and deductibles for Medicare patients:

https://questions.medicare.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/2260/~/medicare-premiums-and-coinsurance-rates-for-2010


Questions? Comments?
deargabbyinsurance@yahoo.com