Medicare Part B covers two types of services; medically necessary and preventive services. You can enroll in Medicare if you are a US resident age 65 and older. In 2024, the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees is $174.70.
What is Medicare?
Medicare is a federal insurance program for people aged 65 or older, younger people with disabilities, or people with End-Stage Renal Disease.
The Medicare services are divided into four parts;
- Part A (inpatient care in the hospital, home health care, hospice care, nursing home care and skilled nursing facility care).
- Part B (Medically necessary services and preventive services).
- Part C (also known as Medicare Advantage, alternative to traditional Medicare sold by private health insurers).
- Part D (Prescription drugs)
Medicare Part B has the widest range of health benefits and coverage exclusions.
Services covered by Medicare Part B
There are two types of services covered by Medicare Part B;
- Medically necessary services: These are services needed to diagnose or treat your medical condition. These services or supplies must meet the accepted standards of medical practice.
- Preventive Services: These services include health care to prevent illness or detection at its early stage and when treatment is most likely to work best.
Medicare Part B Covers:
- Clinical research
- Ambulance services: Ambulance transportation to or from a;
- Hospital
- Critical access hospital
- Rural emergency hospital
- Skilled nursing facility
- Sometimes, a helicopter if you need immediate transport the ground ambulance transportation cannot provide.
- Durable medical equipment (DME): This equipment can be rented to you by Medicare or you can also possess them after making a certain number of rental payments. The Medicare DME includes, but is not limited to:
- Blood sugar meters
- Blood sugar test strips
- Commode chairs
- Continuous passive motion machines, devices, and accessories
- Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines
- Crutches
- Hospital beds
- Infusion pumps and supplies
- Nebulizers and nebulizer medications
- Oxygen equipment & accessories
- Patient lifts
- Pressure-reducing support surfaces
- Suction pumps
- Traction equipment
- Walkers
- Wheelchairs and scooters
- Canes
- Mental health: There are special services for mental health care enrollees such as;
- Limited outpatient prescription drugs: These are drugs that you cannot typically give yourself and will need to receive in a doctor’s office or a hospital outpatient setting. Some of these drugs are;
- New Alzheimer’s drug
- Drugs induced the durable medical equipment (DME)
- Some antigens
- Injectable osteoporosis drugs
- Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents
- Blood clotting factors
- Injectable and infused drugs
- Oral End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) drugs
- Parenteral and enteral nutrition (intravenous and tube feeding)
- Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIG)
- Shots (vaccinations)
- Transplant/immunosuppressive drugs
- Oral cancer drugs
- Oral anti-nausea drugs
Cost of Medicare Part B
The Medicare Part B premium, deductible, and coinsurance rates are determined yearly according to provisions of the Social Security Act.
The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees is $174.70 for 2024. Compared with the 2023 monthly premium of $164.90, there has been an increase of $9.80.
There is also a difference in the annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries. For 2024, the deductible is $240 compared to $226 in 2023, this shows an increase of $14.
Eligibility for Medicare Part B
You can easily calculate your Medicare eligibility online. However, these are the necessary requirements you must meet, to access any of the Medicare services listed in this artcle.
- You must be age 65 or older
- You must be a US resident
- You must be a US citizen or an alien with a permanent residence who has resided in the US for a continuous period of five years prior to the Medicare filing
- You must be younger than 65 years with certain disabilities
- You must be any age and diagnosed with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)
