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Medicare Update on COVID




Medicare will cover the lab tests for COVID-19 and you will pay no out-of-pocket costs. Medicare will also cover all medically necessary hospitalizations. This will include, if you're diagnosed with COVID-19 and might otherwise have been discharged from the hospital after an inpatient stay, but instead, you need to stay in the hospital under quarantine. 

 If a vaccine for COVID becomes available, it will be covered by all Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D). If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, you have access to these Medicare covers related needs. Medicare will also allow these plans to waive cost-sharing for COVID-19 lab tests.

Medicare is also responsible for developing and enforcing the essential health and safety requirements that health care providers must meet on a daily basis in response to coronavirus. This includes;

  • Taking aggressive actions and exercising regulatory flexibilities to help healthcare providers and Medicare health plans.
  • To address the urgent need to increase capacity to care for patients, hospitals can now provide hospital services in other healthcare facilities and sites that aren’t currently considered part of a healthcare facility. This includes off-site screenings.
  • Waiving certain requirements for skilled nursing facility care.
  • Establishing new codes to allow providers to correctly bill for services related to diagnosis and treatment of the illness.
  • Instructing our national network of State Survey Agencies and Accrediting Organizations to focus all their efforts on infection prevention and other cases of abuse and neglect in nursing homes and hospitals.
  • Instructing nursing homes and hospitals to review their infection control procedures, which they're required to maintain at all times.
  • Issuing important guidance answering questions that nursing homes may have with respect for addressing cases of COVID-19.

Telehealth & related services

Medicare has temporarily expanded its coverage of telehealth
services to respond to the current Public Health Emergency. These services expand the current telehealth covered services, to help you have access from more places, with a wider range of communication tools, including smartphones, to interact with a range of providers, such as doctors, nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists, and licensed clinical social worker. You will be able to receive a specific set of services through telehealth including evaluation and management visits, mental health counseling and preventive health screenings without a copayment if you have Original Medicare. This will help ensure you are able to visit with your doctor from your home, without having to go to a doctor’s office or hospital, which puts you and others at risk of exposure to COVID-19.








Always remember:
Scammers may use the coronavirus national emergency to take advantage of people while they’re distracted. As always, you must guard your Medicare card like a credit card. From time to time check Medicare claims summary forms for errors, and if someone calls asking for your Medicare Number, immediately HUNG UP!



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Medicare Part D Costs for 2020

Before 2006, Medicare did not cover prescription medications. There was a limited number of medications that were offered under Medicare Part Band,  and otherwise, you had to pay for your medications out of pocket. In 2003, everything had changed when President George W. Bush passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA). This is what we now know of as  Medicare Part D , an optional part of Medicare that provides prescription drug coverage. Part D plans are run by private insurance companies and not by the government. However, the federal government sets guidelines on what basic medications are covered and how much you can be charged.  A deductible is the amount of money you spend out of pocket before your prescription drug benefits begin. Your plan may or may not have a deductible. The maximum deductible a plan can charge for 2020 is set at $435. It has increased by  $20 from 2019. Part D
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Benefit Period

The benefit period is the length of time during which a benefit is paid. It   measures your use of  inpatient  hospital and  skilled nursing facility (SNF)  services. This  begins the day you are admitted as an inpatient, or to an SNF, and ends the day you have been out of the hospital or SNF for 60 days in a row. After you meet your  deductible ,  Original  Medicare  will pay in full for days 1 to 60 that you are in a hospital. The remaining days, 61-90 , you will have to pay a  daily coinsurance. If your 90 days of hospital coverage has been consumed but you need to stay longer, Medicare covers up to 60 additional lifetime reserve days and yo u will also have to pay a daily  coinsurance . These days are nonrenewable , meaning you will not get them back when you become eligible for another benefit period. If you run out of days during your benefit period, Medicare will stop paying for your in-patient related hospital costs such as room and board.  To be eligible for a new b
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Comparing Health Care Providers

How do I compare the quality fo Health Care Providers? Medicare collects information about the quality and safety of medical care and services given by most health care providers (and facilities). Check Medicare.gov/quality-care-finder and get a snapshot of the quality of care they give their patients. Some feature a star rating system to help you compare quality measures that are important to you. Find out more by: Talking to your health care provider. Each health care provider should have someone you can talk to about quality. Asking your doctor or other health care provider what he or she thinks about the quality of care other providers give. You can also ask your doctor or other health care provider about the quality of care information you find on Medicare.gov . Having access to quality and cost information upfront helps you get a complete picture of your health care options. You'll be able to compare quality ratings, cost information, and other details to hel
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