Coverage
What Procedures Does Medicare Cover?
- January 12, 2024
- Reviewed by John Krahnert
Procedures Medicare does cover
Medicare Part A and Part B make up what is known as “Original Medicare.”
- Part A provides coverage for inpatient hospital services.
- Part B covers outpatient care and durable medical equipment (DME).
Original Medicare coverage typically requires the care to be “medically necessary” in order for it to be covered by Part A or Part B. Certain other restrictions may apply, depending on the procedure you need.
Depending on the type of service you get and how Medicare covers it, you may face certain deductible, coinsurance and/or copayment costs.
The services and items below are not necessarily a complete list of procedures that are covered by Original Medicare.
Click on each item in the list to learn more about how it’s covered by Medicare and how much they may cost.
- Acupuncture
- Air Ambulance transportation
- Annual physicals
- Auto accident injury treatment
- Back surgery
- Blood tests
- Breast reduction surgery
- Long term care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility
- Nutrition therapy
- Cataract surgery
- Chemotherapy
- Chiropractic services
- Colonoscopy screenings
- Counseling services
- CT Scans
- Cancer treatment
- Dermatology services
- Dialysis
- Echocardiograms
- Endoscopy
- ER Visits
- Fertility treatments
- Gender reassignment surgery
- Genetic testing
- Heart transplants
- Hepatitis C testing
- Hernia surgery
- Hip replacement surgery
- Home health care
- Hospital observation
- Hysterectomy surgery
- Laser spine surgery
- Liver transplants
- Macular degeneration treatment
- Mental health services
- MRI Scans
- Oral surgery
- Outpatient surgery
- Pain management
- Pap smears
- PET Scans
- Physical therapy
- Podiatry
- STD testing
- Surgery
- Thyroid tests
- Eyelid surgery
- Palliative care
- Pregnancy
- Telemedicine
- Knee replacements
- Allergy testing
- Rehabilitation services
- Stem cell therapy
- Urgent care services
- Varicose vein treatment
- Weight loss programs
- X-rays
Procedures Medicare typically doesn't cover may be covered by some Medicare Advantage plans
Some procedures that aren't typically covered by Original Medicare may sometimes be covered by certain Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) plans. Some common services, like hearing aids, aren't covered by Original Medicare.
All Medicare Advantage plans are required by law to provide all of the same benefits found under Original Medicare.
Check with your Medicare Advantage plan carrier or a licensed insurance agent for help determining which procedures, services and items may be covered by your Medicare Advantage plan or a plan in your area.
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About the author
Christian Worstell is a senior Medicare and health insurance writer with MedicareAdvantage.com. He is also a licensed health insurance agent. Christian is well-known in the insurance industry for the thousands of educational articles he’s written, helping Americans better understand their health insurance and Medicare coverage.
Christian’s work as a Medicare expert has appeared in several top-tier and trade news outlets including Forbes, MarketWatch, WebMD and Yahoo! Finance.
Christian has written hundreds of articles for MedicareAvantage.com that teach Medicare beneficiaries the best practices for navigating Medicare. His articles are read by thousands of older Americans each month. By better understanding their health care coverage, readers may hopefully learn how to limit their out-of-pocket Medicare spending and access quality medical care.
Christian’s passion for his role stems from his desire to make a difference in the senior community. He strongly believes that the more beneficiaries know about their Medicare coverage, the better their overall health and wellness is as a result.
A current resident of Raleigh, Christian is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
If you’re a member of the media looking to connect with Christian, please don’t hesitate to email our public relations team at Mike@tzhealthmedia.com.
