Consider Other Coverage With Medicare Part A For Complete Health Care
April 3rd, 2010 | Published in Medicare Information
When you have Medicare Part A coverage, you can’t assume you are covered for many of the health care issues you might face. One thing to realize is that even when you get Medicare Part B coverage, it doesn’t mean that you are 100% insured. When you consider that there are parts of Medicare Part D, the prescription drug plan, that leave you paying thousands of dollars per year, you can imagine the amount of medical expense you could be facing if you face serious illness, because Medicare Part A and Part B are lacking, as well.
Some people consider Medicare Part C a more complete option because it is a combination of Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B that is offered by private insurance companies, but some plans offer prescription drug coverage and some don’t. For many people that are still working, their employer’s health insurance offers a back-up plan, but for many that have Medicare Part A, they have no other coverage. When you consider the unpaid medical bills you could be facing in the event of major health issues, you need to consider other coverage to supplement your Medicare Part A insurance.
There are some Medicare supplemental insurance policies and Medigap is designed to fill in some gaps of coverage. You have to consider that every medical situation is different and most people should assume there will be some out-of-pocket expenses. Some states might have Medicaid coverage that can provide assistance for the lower income persons, but you need to check with your local office to see if you are eligible. The important thing is that you understand your exposure before you are facing large medical bills that are left unpaid by Medicare Part A.
If you consider some of the other things that Medicare Part A doesn’t cover, you might want to consider long term health care coverage. Medicare Part A covers a hospital stay that is more than 3 days and will cover skilled nursing care facilities for up to 100 days, but only the first 20 days are paid in full. You will be expected to cover co-payments after that and if your care runs longer than 100 days, you will be responsible for payment. As you can see, you could quickly drain any savings accounts you have, if you face an extended stay in a skilled nursing care facility.
You should consider Medicare Part A part of a health insurance plan that covers major medical hospital stays, but you shouldn’t consider it a stand-alone coverage that will provide for every health care crisis you face. When it comes to your health insurance needs as you get older, you might want to consider other supplemental coverage, or Medicare Part C coverage might offer some relief. It is offered by Medicare-approved providers, but might be more restrictive for some that don’t like doctor networks or being referred into specialists. The main thing to consider is that you will need something besides Medicare Part A, in most cases.