Did you know that there are around 44 million beneficiaries enrolled in the Medicare program? If you are wondering does Medicare cover surgery, you are in the right place. Requiring a surgery or procedure might feel overwhelming all on its own.
Below we are going to explore everything that you need to know about Medicare and costs.
Does Medicare Cover Surgery?
Medicare Part A does cover many expenses that are related to essential surgical procedures. The surgeries Medicare does not cover are cosmetic unless they have a medical purpose. An example of this is an eye lift surgery if the droopy lid is impacting your vision.
Part A also covers expenses that are related to your hospital stay after having surgery. The total amount you will have to pay out of pocket will all depend on how long your recovery time is.
Length of Hospital Stay
If your stay is between one to sixty days you will not have any coinsurance. If you have to stay at the hospital longer than 60 days you will pay per day for days 61 to 90. After 90 days you will pay a higher amount for every “lifetime reserve” day that you are in the hospital.
If you are still in the hospital after exhausting your lifetime reserve days, Medicare A will not cover your expenses after that. If this sounds scary do not worry because the chances of having such a long hospital stay are not very high. The average hospital stay in the United States is 4.9 days.
Medicare Part B
Part B covers a few doctor’s services that are related to surgery. Part B also covers some kinds of oral surgery and other care that you will receive as an outpatient. Usually, they will pay 80% of the eligible bills which will only leave you owing 20%.
Estimating Your Costs
Figuring out how much you will have to spend on your surgery might be a bit confusing to figure out because the prices for individual surgeries depend on the procedure and the healthcare facility. Something else that will affect the cost is if there is a complication during surgery the doctor might have to perform a procedure that has not been accounted for.
You can always get an idea of what you will have to pay by asking either the doctor or a customer care representative at the hospital to give you a rough estimate. Keep in mind that something else that will influence the costs of surgery is whether you are an inpatient or an outpatient.
If you have extra coverage like Medigap they might cover your yearly deductible before Medicare covers your surgery expenses. You can look on MedicareWire to see what Medigap options there are out there.
Feeling Like a Medicare Pro?
Now that we went over the question “does medicare cover surgery?” and what Medicare covers, you can make an informed decision to make sure that you do not end up with unexpected bills.
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