Medicare could cover dental, vision and hearing under new $3.5 Trillion plan
Medicare, the health insurance program relied on by most older Americans, would cover dental, vision and hearing under a budget agreement.
Although there’s no certainty that everything in the budget blueprint will make it through the full congressional process, Medicare advocates are hopeful that coverage of the extra benefits will come to fruition.
“It would be a significant improvement [to provide coverage] for people who often go without needed care because they can’t afford it and for people who pay a lot for the care they need,” said Tricia Neuman, executive director for the Kaiser Family Foundation’s program on Medicare policy.
Some beneficiaries get limited coverage for dental, vision and hearing if they choose to get their Parts A and B benefits delivered through an Advantage Plan (Part C), which often include those extras. About 40% of beneficiaries are enrolled in Advantage Plans.
However, Lipschutz said, the extra coverage generally is not comprehensive. On the other hand, if expanded benefits — no matter how generous — were required under original Medicare, they’d become standard in an Advantage Plan.
“We’d hope this would enrich benefits for all beneficiaries,” Lipschutz said.
Key Points:
- There’s no guarantee that the proposal to expand Medicare’s coverage will make it through the full legislative process.
- It’s uncertain exactly what would be covered and to what degree, although other legislative efforts could provide some clues, including a bill that was introduced last week and another that cleared the House in 2019 but died in the Senate.
