Is your medical item or service covered by Medicare Part A and/or Part B? Now there’s a quick way to check!

Medicare’s free “What’s Covered” app delivers accurate cost and coverage information right on your smartphone. Now you can quickly see whether Medicare covers your service in the doctor’s office, the hospital, or anywhere else you use your phone. The “What’s Covered” app is the only official U.S. government Medicare app.

The app delivers general cost, coverage and eligibility details for items and services covered by Medicare Part A and Part B.  Search or browse to learn what’s covered and not covered; how and when to get covered benefits; and basic cost information. You can also get a list of covered preventive services.

The “What’s Covered” app helps you understand the health care coverage offered by Original Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance).

Use this federal government app to:

• Get answers to your Medicare coverage questions
• See how much you’ll pay
• Learn about the covered items and services
• See helpful notes and where to get more information
• Browse free preventive services

Original Medicare Items & Services: Find out exactly what your Medicare coverage has to offer by getting answers to questions like:

• When are mammograms covered?
• Are specialists or home health care covered?
• Will Medicare pay for crutches, walkers, or diabetes testing supplies?

Preventive Health Coverage: Medicare coverage includes many common preventive services at no cost to you. Preventive services can help keep you healthy by finding health problems early, when treatment works best, and can keep you from getting certain diseases.

What’s covered will help you answer questions like:

• Will my Medicare benefits cover a service to help me stop smoking?
• Can I get a regular cervical cancer screening?
• How often will my Medicare coverage allow me to get a bone mass measurement?
• Ask your doctor or other health care provider which preventive services (like screenings, shots, and tests) you need to get.

Part A & Part B Costs: Medicare Part A and Part B cover certain medical services and supplies in hospitals, doctors’ offices, and other health care settings.

Part A hospital insurance coverage helps pay for inpatient care in a hospital, inpatient care in a skilled nursing facility, hospice care, home health care, or inpatient care in a religious non-medical health care institution. Copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles may apply for each service covered by Part A.

Part B medical insurance coverage supports medically necessary doctors’ services, outpatient care, home health services, durable medical equipment, mental health services, preventive services, and other medical services. Under Original Medicare, if the Part B deductible applies, you must pay all health care costs (up to the Medicare-approved amount) until you meet the yearly Part B deductible. After your deductible is met, Medicare begins to pay its share and you typically pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount of the service, if the doctor or other health care provider accepts assignment. There’s no yearly limit for what you pay out-of-pocket.

For some items and services, you must meet eligibility criteria or you may be responsible for paying all costs. Your doctor or other health care provider may recommend you get services more often than Medicare covers. Or, they may recommend services that Medicare doesn’t cover. If this happens, you may have to pay some or all of the costs. Ask questions so you understand why your doctor is recommending certain services and whether Medicare will pay for them.

Use the “What’s Covered” app to answer questions like:

• How much will I pay for prescription drugs included in Medicare Part B coverage?
• Does the Part B deductible apply for cardiac rehabilitation?
• What percentage of the Medicare-approved amount will I need to pay for colorectal cancer screenings?

Medicare Advantage Plans: If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan or other Medicare health plan, you have the same basic health care coverage as people who have Original Medicare, but the rules vary by plan. Some Medicare Advantage Plans offer extra benefits that Original Medicare doesn’t cover – like vision, hearing, or dental. Check with the plan or search in the App Store to see if the plan has a similar mobile application.

Download Medicare’s official “What’s Covered” app — available for free in both the Apple App Store and Google Play.    The “What’s Covered” is part of the agency’s eMedicare initiative—launched in 2018—which is aimed at empowering beneficiaries with cost and quality information.

_______________________________________________

ABOUT DONALD D. VANARELLI

Donald D. Vanarelli has been a practicing attorney since 1983 in New Jersey and New York. Don provides legal services in the areas of elder law, estate planning, trust administration, special education, special needs planning and trial advocacy, including probate litigation, will contests, contested guardianships and elder abuse trials.

Don is a Certified Elder Law Attorney, an Accredited Veterans Attorney and a Past Chair of the Elder and Disability Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Don is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor given by the New Jersey State Bar Association – Elder and Disability Law Section. The Lifetime Achievement Award is bestowed on an attorney with an established history of distinguished service who has made significant contributions in the field of elder and disability law throughout his or her career.

Don is actively involved in trial advocacy on behalf of elderly and disabled citizens. Don represented the plaintiff in a pivotal special needs trust case decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court entitled Saccone v. Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, 219 N.J. 369 (2014). He also represented the plaintiff in a seminal estate planning / guardianship / Medicaid planning case entitled In re Keri, 181 N.J. 50 (2004). Don was also co-counsel representing the plaintiff in Galletta v. Velez, Civil No. 13-532 (D.N.J. June 3, 2014) in which a federal court ruled, for the first time, that a pension from the Department of Veterans Affairs may not be counted as income in determining Medicaid eligibility.

When he’s not working, Don spends his time with his wife, Marion, and his three children, Julianne, Evan and Alex.

 _______________________________________________

For additional information concerning NJ elder law and special needs planning visit:

NJ Elder Law and Estate Planning Services