Difference between Medicare Part A and Part B

A remarkable decision ever made by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, changed the entire landscape of healthcare services in America. Intellectuals called it a ‘Landmark Amendment’ signed to the Social Security Act for the healthy and productive lives of Americans. 

Medicare is changing the lives of people by providing them access to affordable and quality healthcare services. Medicare is a federal health insurance program helping people who are of the age 65 or older. It’s also helping younger people with disabilities or end-stage diseases or kidney failure. 

Original Medicare is a federal health insurance program made up of both Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance). It basically covers a fee for the essential services plans which allow the patients to visit any hospital or doctor. 

In an estimation, more than 55 million US citizens are relying on Medicare which covers almost 23 types of preventive services. These services cover the diseases like flu, Pneumococcal shots, and diabetes for which few initial screenings are free and for some others a small copayment or deductible amount is required. 

This blog piece is clearly intended towards explaining the difference between Medicare Part A and Part B in Medical Billing and how one can get enrolled in the Original Medicare. 

When a patient enrolls for Medicare, it’s usually Medicare Part A and Part B. Medicare Part A applies to many costs of inpatient care and Part B primarily helps cover costs of outpatient treatment. Medicare also covers certain lab tests, hospital stays, preventive care, such as visits to a doctor, medical equipment, and some prescriptions.

Here is the key difference between Medicare parts A and part B. 

Medicare Part A

Medicare Part A is designed to cover inpatient care, which includes a general nursing, semi-private room for the hospital stay of longer than two days. This also includes skilled nursing and rehabilitative services apart from other hospital services and supplies, intermittent home health care, pain relief, symptom management, and support services for terminally ill patients.

Medicare A does not cover supportive services, such as long-term care at a nursing home, and is only designed to cover active medical treatment and hospice care.

Medicare Part B

Medicare Part B is medical insurance which generally covers services such as Doctor Visits, preventive services including certain tests and screenings, surgical services, flu, and pneumococcal shots, etc. It also facilitates diabetes screenings, supplies, and durable medical equipment. Part B covers different services for which coverage rules may vary in different cases.

In a nutshell, it is important to understand your Medicare coverage choices carefully because there are few services that are not covered under Medicare Part A & Part B. Long term nursing care, cosmetic surgery, hearing exams and aids, eye exams for prescription glasses, or any other health care facility outside the US is not allowed. How you choose to get your Medicare benefits affect your out-of-pocket costs for non-covered health services.