A Look Into the Benefits of Medicare
Americans spend billions of dollars for healthcare programs and services, more specifically insurance programs. One of the more famous types of social insurance programs available to Americans is Medicare. It is one of the more reliable types of healthcare because your insurer is the government itself.
Medicare is a health insurance program offered by the United States government to those who meet certain requirements. To be qualified, you must fall under any of these categories: people who are over the age of sixty-five, those who are under the age of 65 but have permanent physical or congenital disabilities, or any other person who meets other special criteria set by the government. The benefits of Medicare are four-fold. These are the following: hospitalization insurance, medical insurance benefits, prescription drugs coverage, and the so-called Medicare advantage plans – plans that gave an alternative way for plan beneficiaries to claim the three benefits that preceded the fourth.
First in the benefits of Medicare is Hospital Insurance. Hospital insurance makes sure your in-hospital fees are covered. The fees covered by this part of Medicare are the following: room fees, food fees, laboratory test fees, and the doctor’s professional fees. This part of Medicare can also cover your bills in a private nursing home provided you meet certain criteria set by the insurer. The criteria are the following. You must have stayed in a hospital for 3 days and 3 nights prior to your nursing home confinement. Your stay inside the home must be tied with the reasons that you stayed in the hospital you recently vacated. Another criterion is when the patient has an ailment that needs the work of a skilled nursing representative. Lastly, it is stated that the nursing work done by the private nursing home must be “skilled” meaning the work done inside the nursing home should not be mere domestic work like cooking and cleaning. Furthermore, the maximum time spent in the nursing home that is entitled to this insurance coverage is 100 days. The Medicare insurer will pay for the first 20 days but the next 80 days will be split between the patient and the insurer.
Second in the list of the benefits of Medicare is medical insurance. This part of the Medicare insurance program covers the fees that are not covered by the first part. Some of these fees are the following: doctor and nursing services, laboratory tests, hospital procedures that do not require confinement, and fees for equipment used for personal improvement like mobility scooters and canes. There are also rules that tell who and how you can avail of these benefits. It is best to consult Insurance Coverage manuals to determine the requirements that you need to comply with before you are eligible for this part of the benefits of Medicare.
Third in the list is the Prescription Drug Plan. Follow the next installment to get to know more about the third and fourth benefits of Medicare. This knowledge will help you decide whether to enroll yourself into this kind of health insurance.
An article by Doyle Christensen
Published at: https://www.isnare.com/?aid=1167283&ca=Wellness%2C+Fitness+and+Diet