If you have chosen to transfer or assign your Medicare to an all-in-one Medicare Advantage plan, you will simply have co-pays that will need to be met for all your services for any medical services, supplies, or equipment.
Many folks choose to keep their Original Medicare Part A & B anda Medicare Supplement (or Medigap) to cover all their medical services co-pays and deductibles, plus a Part D Prescription Drug Plan.
However, in some cases, depending on which Supplement (Medigap) plan you choose, you could still be responsible for the Part B yearly deductible of $185.00.
Plan F covers the Medicare Part B deductible for you, but many of the other Plans do not, such as Plan G and Plan N. Plan G, Plan N, and Plan F are the three most popular of all the Medicare Medigap plans (A through N).
What can trigger the yearly $185.00 Part B deductible?
(1) Doctor Visits.
2) Getting Blood.
3) Home Health visits
4) Purchasing Durable Medical Equipment (DME). Of these services, the DME has a long list of items where you would have to meet the yearly $185.00 Medicare deductible. You can visit www.medicare.gov to review additional information and details. But Medicare will generally cover the cost of these items.
Medicare DME coverage includes, but isn’t limited to:
• Blood sugar monitors
• Blood sugar test strips
• Canes
• Commode chairs
• Continuous passive motion devices
• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices
• Crutches
• Hospital beds
• Infusion pumps & supplies
• Lancet devices & lancets
• Nebulizers & nebulizer medications
• Oxygen equipment & accessories
• Patient Lifts
• Pressure-reducing beds, mattresses, and mattress
overlays
• Suction pumps
• Traction equipment
• Walkers
• Wheelchairs & scooters
When visiting www.medicare.gov you can simply enter any of these items in the search box located at the top of the page and the detail information will appear. Sometimes there are requirements that must be met before Medicare will authorize the DME, such as a doctor stating that the DME is necessary.
You will also need a Medicare DME authorized supplier. You can find out who and where is your local authorized supplier by visiting
https://medicare.gov/supplierdirectory/search.html
Remember, if you have a Medicare Advantage plan, your Advantage plan will handle all this with you and may or may not have a co-pay