What It Covers

If you get Medicare coverage, it helps with many different types of medical expenses. The exact coverage you have depends on:

• Whether you have Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, or a Medicare Cost plan
• If you have a Medicare Advantage or Medicare Cost plan, which plan you have
• If you have Original Medicare, whether you have Part B and Part D, and, if so, which Part D plan you have

What Full Medicare Coverage Usually Offers

This list presents many of the medical expenses that Original Medicare Parts A and B help pay for. Medicare Advantage plans also pay for all of these services, but some plans also pay for more services not listed here. For all of these, you may have to pay copayments, co-insurance, or a deductible. Learn more about what Medicare costs and how to get help paying for it.

Part A, Medicare Advantage, and Medicare Cost plans all cover hospitalization expenses, including:

• Medical care when you are admitted to the hospital
• Hospital stays
• Short-term stays in a skilled nursing facility
• Hospice care
• Home health care
• Blood

Part B and Medicare Advantage plans both cover outpatient expenses, including:

• Outpatient care, including observation services
• Preventive screenings and services, including an annual checkup and some vaccines
• Lab tests, such as X-rays, MRIs, and blood tests
• Home health care
• Emergency services, including ambulance transit and emergency room treatment
• Medical and surgical services and supplies
• Mental health care
• Urgent care
• Doctor and practitioner services
• Rehabilitation, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech therapy
• Supplies and equipment, such as prosthetics, orthotics, durable medical equipment, diabetes supplies, or wheelchairs
• In some situations, other things like chiropractic services, diabetes management, and injectable cancer or immunosuppressive drugs.

Part D, as well as Medicare Advantage and Medicare Cost plans that include drug coverage, pay for prescription drugs on a plan’s formulary. Formularies are reviewed by Medicare and must cover certain types of medications.

Get more information about what Medicare covers:

• For Original Medicare, read Medicare & You or download Medicare's "What's Covered" app from Google Play or the Apple App Store.
• For Part D, a Medigap policy, or Medicare Advantage, contact your private insurance company.
• See Medicare.gov’s list of services that Original Medicare doesn’t cover, such as dental care, eye exams, hearing aids, cosmetic surgery, and acupuncture.
• Check out the Minnesota Board on Aging's Health Care Choices for Minnesotans on Medicare. You can call the Senior LinkAge Line® at 1-800-333-2433 to ask for a paper copy.