Twenty percent of the U.S. population relies on Medicare for their health insurance coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. This amounts to about 65 million Americans, an enormous number of people. Medicare is a vast, wide-ranging program, so it is understandable that you may not know all the benefits that are available. Here are a few Medicare benefits that you probably don’t know about. You may be able to use them to make the most of your coverage under the second most popular government program in the U.S. (Social Security is number one) and improve your health.
Tobacco cessation counseling. “Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States,” Physicians Mutual Insurance Company reports. “If going cold turkey isn’t your thing, you can get free counseling to help you kick the habit. You can get up to eight smoking and tobacco-use cessation counseling sessions during a 12-month period. There are two levels of counseling, depending on your needs. Intermediate service counseling sessions last between 3-10 minutes, and the intensive counseling service lasts longer than 10 minutes. If you’re on Medicare and your service provider accepts Medicare, you pay nothing, including co-pays or coinsurance.”
Diet and Weight Management. If you have a body mass index of 30 or more, Medicare can help you lose weight. Medicare covers Intensive Behavioral Therapy. (IBT) which includes personal counseling sessions to help you improve your diet and exercise to shed some pounds. If your service provider accepts Medicare, you can have up to 22 face-to-face counseling sessions over a 12-month period at no cost to you.
Disease screenings. “Medicare covers screenings for numerous diseases as part of its preventive services,” says moneywise.com. Medicare will pay for testing to detect: HIV and other STDs; diabetes; glaucoma; breast and cervical cancer; colon and prostate cancer; and heart disease. Patients with histories of smoking can get an annual lung cancer screening,
Depression screening. “Medicare covers one depression screening per year that must happen in a primary care setting, like a doctor’s office,” AARP Magazine says. “If a provider recommends follow-up treatment or other mental health and behavioral services, then the coinsurance rules under Part B would apply. In a crisis, people can contact the free and confidential Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Hearing exams. “Traditional Medicare will not pay for hearing aids, but it will pay for a test to determine what (if any) hearing loss you have,” thestreet.com points out. An estimated 37 million Americans have hearing loss but less than a third use hearing aids There are proposals rattling around the halls of Congress which would extend Medicare benefits to pay for hearing aids, but it is uncertain whether this will happen anytime soon. Also, because inner ear issues are related to balance, if you are having balance issues, your doctor may want order an ear exam. The cost of which would be covered by Medicare.
Vaccines. AARP Magazine points out that “[t]hanks to a federal law passed in 2022, Medicare now covers most vaccines at no cost to enrollees with prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D or as part of their Medicare Advantage plan. This includes inoculations recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as the shots for shingles and RSV. Medicare Part B had already covered other vaccines, such as seasonal flu and COVID-19 shots, at no charge.”
Wheelchairs and scooters. Mobility devices like wheelchairs and scooters may be paid for by Medicare but only if your doctor considers them medically necessary, certifies that you are unable to walk without difficulty, and writes a prescription for the device after giving you an exam.
Advance care planning. Everyone should have a written advance care plan. This can ease the burden on your loved ones and specify what type of care want if you are unable to make your own medical care decisions. “The list of advance directive decisions you can make is quite long. But two of the most common are a living will and power of attorney,” advises Physicians Mutual Insurance. “Broadly speaking, a living will outlines your preferences on the use of emergency care to keep you alive. These can include CPR, ventilators, tube feeding, pacemakers, ICDs, etc. A power of attorney identifies who you want to help make health care decisions if you’re unable to communicate your preferences. Your doctor can help you complete the form. [If] you do your advance care planning as part of your yearly “Wellness” visit, and your doctor accepts Medicare, you pay nothing.”
Hospice care. For those facing death, hospice care is a largely unknown Medicare benefit. “To qualify the patient's life expectancy must be no more than six months and the patient must agree to forgo cure focused treatment,” thestreet.com advises.
Annual wellness visits. Finally, this is a benefit everyone should take advantage of. An annual wellness visit with your doctor (or other healthcare provider) is typically covered by your Medicare or Medicare Advantage plan. This means you can have an annual visit to review your health with your doctor and won’t be charged out of pocket for this appointment. Many people are simply unaware of this benefit. If you are covered by Medicare and haven’t been using this benefit, call your healthcare provider today, confirm that he or she will accept Medicare, and schedule an appointment.
