Medicare is a critical insurance program for aging US citizens, and yet there are many misconceptions and gaps in knowledge concerning the scheme, especially among the retirees. Tampa based Sabiha Haider Khan, currently the Director of Compliance at Quality Health Plans of New York, has shared some important insights into Medicare for retirees.
A vast majority of those insured under Medicare have wrong conceptions about Part B, which covers preventive care, and they assume that it is free for those who have been paying their social security taxes for ten years or more. The Part B covers visits by doctors and diagnostics.
The Medicare Part A covers hospital care, and comes free. One thing to note here is that not having to pay premium does not take away the burden of expenses in case of hospitalization. The Part B requires a premium, and again, one should keep in mind that those who earn more also have to pay a higher premium. Part D, which covers prescriptions, carries premiums depending upon the plan selected.
Some basics that should be known about Medicare is that it doesn’t cover health services such as dentist visits, eye exams or hearing tests. These however can be brought under coverage by using the Medicare Advantage Plan.
Sabiha Haider Khan is the Director of Compliance at Quality Health Plans of New York, and is an independent consultant for healthcare companies, insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, regulatory affairs, Medicare Advantage, third party administrators and others. Among her past projects is the Medicare PDPs Compliance Project, and delegation management from Health Plans and PBMs such as Aetna, Humana, CVS, Optum, etc.