What is covered under Medicare?

 
What's covered under Medicare?
 
The program consists of two separate but complementary divisions: Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B.
Medicare Part A, or Medicare Hospital Insurance, covers medically necessary inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facility services, hospice, and some home health care. Most people do not pay a monthly payment (premium) for Part A because they (or a spouse) paid Medicare taxes while they were working.
 
Medicare Part B It is under Medicare Part B that most equipment you use in your home are covered and reimbursed. Medicare Part B, covers medically necessary Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, and Orthotics (DMEPOS), physician's services, ambulance, outpatient physical therapy, speech pathology services, and other health services, including patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Part B helps pay for covered doctor services and supplies that are medically necessary.
 
Those enrolled in Medicare Part B pay a monthly premium. In 2006 that premium was $88.50 per month, typically deducted from your Social Security check.
 
Medicare+Choice was added to the Social Security Act in 1997. Under this section a beneficiary would have access to health plan choices that go beyond the original Medicare.
 
A Medicare Managed Care Plan is a choice offered in some areas of the country by private insurance companies, sometimes called an HMO. Those enrolled pay the Medicare Part B premium and sometimes an additional premium.
Private Fee-for-Service Plan is a Medicare health plan offered by a private insurance company. Medicare pays a set amount of money every month to the private company and the company provides health care coverage to people with Medicare who join this plan.