Medicare Part B is known as your “medical coverage.”
Part B covers 2 types of services
- Medically necessary services: Services or supplies that are needed to diagnose or treat your medical condition and that meet accepted standards of medical practice.
- Preventive services: Health care to prevent illness (like the flu) or detect it at an early stage, when treatment is most likely to work best.
You pay nothing for most preventive services if you get the services from a health care provider who accepts assignment.
Part B covers things like:
- Doctor visits (both in and out of the hospital)
- Outpatient surgery
- Clinical research
- Ambulance services
- Durable medical equipment (DME)
- Mental health (Inpatient, Outpatient, Partial hospitalization
- Getting a second opinion before surgery
- Limited outpatient prescription drugs
Two ways to find out if Medicare covers what you need
- Talk to your doctor or other health care provider about why you need certain services or supplies, and ask if Medicare will cover them. If you need something that’s usually covered and your provider thinks that Medicare won’t cover it in your situation, you’ll have to read and sign a notice saying that you may have to pay for the item, service, or supply.
- Find out if Medicare covers your item, service, or supply.