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  • Bob Vineyard

Does Medicare Cover Hearing Aids?

Bob Vineyard · February 21, 2017 ·

Does Medicare cover hearing tests and hearing aids? Find financial assistance to offset the cost of hearing exams and aids. How Veterans can get help for hearing and vision concerns. Purchase high quality digital aids at a discount.

Does Medicare Cover Hearing Aids? 1

Welcome to Medicare where the rules are different. No problem. We are here to help. Sit down. Relax. Take your shoes off. We are here to help. And there is never any selling.

There are some situations where Medicare will pay for diagnostic hearing tests if your doctor feels the tests are necessary to start a treatment plan. Always ask your doctor if testing or treatment will be covered by Medicare.

Hearing Aids, Dental Care, Eye Exams

If you are turning 65 and trading in your “Big Company” group health insurance plan for Medicare you may be in for a shock. Say goodbye to dental and vision coverage. Most employer plans did not have a hearing aid benefit so no loss there.

The good news is, you can also say goodbye to high deductibles, even higher out of pocket costs and those pain in the butt out of network penalties.

But years of listening to Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin and Iron Butterfly may have damaged your hearing.

If your spouse is telling you to turn down the volume it might be time to have your hearing checked.

Hearing aids aren’t the only thing not covered by Medicare. There are quite a few, relatively low cost health care items that are your responsibility. Here are just a few things not covered by Medicare.

  • routine hearing exams and hearing aids
  • regular eye exams, eyeglasses and contacts
  • acupuncture and chiropractic care (unless spinal manipulation is medically necessary)
  • non-emergency transportation
  • cosmetic surgery

The good news is, you have great coverage for major items such as cancer, heart issues, cataracts and joint pain. Original Medicare coupled with supplement plan G means limited out of pocket costs for most health care.

Georgia Medicare Supplement Rates

How to Pay for Hearing Tests and Aids

There are insurance plans that will cover part of the cost of hearing aids but don’t waste your money.  Hearing aids can be very expensive.   But don’t give up hope. Here are a few ideas that may help.

  • Warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam’s often have low cost testing and discounts on hearing aids
  • You may qualify for help through the Sertoma clubs or Starkey Hearing Foundation
  • Seek out local Lion’s Clubs and ask about their Affordable Hearing Aid Project
  • Veterans can get financial help in some situations. See if you qualify through the VA Hearing and Vision Benefit
  • Check out the Hearing Loss Association to determine if you can qualify for assistance
  • Another resource is the Audient Alliance where qualified individuals may purchase digital hearing aids at reduced prices
  • Healthy Hearing is one of the most comprehensive sites we have found with almost limitless information on hearing loss and assistance

We hope the above links will help in your search for assistance in dealing with hearing loss. If you know of other resources please don’t hesitate to share this with us so we can add to the list. Otherwise you may need to resort to a stylish hearing device like this one.

hearing aids

Local hearing resources for Georgia residents include Georgia Hearing Center and Georgia Hearing Institute.

At Georgia Hearing Center, our audiologists have nearly 50 years combined experience in the hearing industry. We strive to provide professional and friendly hearing healthcare to adults and children of all ages.

The Georgia Hearing Institute, affiliated with The ENT Center of Central Georgia, has provided comprehensive audiological services for over 40 years to patients from infancy to adulthood. With locations in Macon and Warner Robins, patients of all ages are benefiting from improved hearing and ultimately, a better quality of life. We are pleased to provide the full spectrum of hearing testing, amplification, and custom products sales and services at both of our locations.

One last link before you go. Crank up the volume and listen to Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones belt out “Whole Lotta Love“.

#HearingAids #HearingLoss #Deafness #MedicareHearingAids

Medicare dental care, eye exams, free preventive exam, hearing aids, obamacare, vision care

Free Colonscopy

Bob Vineyard · March 17, 2015 ·

find medicare information

Free colonoscopy! Courtesy of Obamacare, everyone is entitled to a free colonoscopy when it is age appropriate. You may also be eligible for a colonoscopy at no charge (to you) based on your medical or family history. Normally this procedure is $1200 – $1500 but the folks at Obamacare have said you can have it at no charge along with over 100 different preventive services.

Free birth control was not part of the law but it just sounded so good they decided to shoehorn that in because it worked into the overall political pitch. Along with you can keep your plan and your doctor why not throw in free contraceptives?

Nothing has been more confusing in the law than the much touted “free” colonoscopy. I still get calls from clients when they open a bill from their doctor and are surprised to find they owe several hundred dollars for this free procedure.

In fact, I had a call just this morning and had to explain the difference in free and not exactly free because we were only kidding.

Georgia Medigap plans & Prices
Georgia Medigap plans & Prices

Free colonoscopy that really isn’t

For starters, let’s address the meaning of the word free.

FB Groucho Marx3

Free doesn’t mean there is no cost, it simply means you don’t pay directly for this procedure. Think about that for a moment.

The doctor doesn’t work for free. The exam room, drugs, equipment and assistants aren’t free. Someone has to cover the cost. That someone is everyone else that has coverage through Medicare or a private insurance plan.

Providing these “free” services means the premiums you pay for your insurance are higher than they would have been if not for these “free” services.

In the case of the free colonoscopy it is only free until it isn’t.

Why a colonoscopy?

Depending on your age or medical history, a colonoscopy might be appropriate. Dr. Stephen Schimpff offers this explanation.

The concept and purpose of colonoscopy is to find a polyp and remove it before it turns into cancer. Colon cancers arise from polyps. Polyps are common but only a minority of polyps progress to cancer. But if removed they obviously cannot become colon cancer. Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women in the USA with about 150,000 new cases per year, behind only lung, breast and prostate cancers. And it causes about 50,000 deaths per year. Prevention obviously makes sense. – Kevin MD

No one really wants to go through the procedure but most don’t want to get cancer either. If you are in a high risk category you probably should schedule your procedure sooner rather than later.

I have a close relative that has a significant family history when it comes to cancer. Her mother and father both died from cancer. All of her fathers siblings died from cancer and (if I remember correctly) so did two of her mother’s siblings.

So far she has been cancer free but has been conscientious in taking care of her overall health and making sure she has regular screenings.

When does a colonoscopy change from free to not free?

You are not the first one to ask and you won’t be the last. Even doctors can be confused about the free colonoscopy.

A check at healthfinder.gov stated that colonoscopy was covered by the ACA and that, “if your doctor finds polyps inside your colon during testing, these growths can be removed before they become cancer.”

I decided to call the doctor’s billing office to check. After the clerk talked to her supervisor she called back to say that I was correct that there was to be no deductible if it was a simple “screening” colonoscopy. But since the doctor had found and removed a polyp it became a therapeutic procedure. Medicare and Medigap (and apparently commercial insurers as well for those under 65) do not recognize this as a preventive screening procedure under the ACA guidelines. Hence I was on the hook for the remaining $65.52.

Now $65 for a colonoscopy isn’t bad at all, but when you were expecting free you deserve an explanation. When the government designed Obamacare it was obvious they had no idea how insurance works and were completely clueless with regard to the claim process.

ricky ricardo

With the free preventive screenings, the intent was good. Encourage people to get tested for as many things as possible and keep the entry fee for those screenings at a minimum. If something can be caught early it won’t be as costly to treat over the long haul.

Kind of like routine maintenance on your car. Change the oil on a regular basis, check the fluids and you can get a lot of miles out of your car and avoid expensive repair bills in the future.

It isn’t foolproof but certainly better than no preventive maintenance at all.

But when it comes to coding medical care there are different codes for preventive procedures vs. diagnostic.

Generally, once something out of the ordinary is discovered the coding changes from preventive to diagnostic and the procedure is no longer free.

Someone neglected to tell that to the Congress critters when they were writing the legislation.

I sometimes feel like I am Ricky Ricardo talking to Lucy. “Lucy, you got some splainin’ to do”.

Dr. Schimpff and his Medigap plan

The doctor makes several references to his high deductible Medigap plan. After all was done and billed his out of pocket cost for the procedure including doctor, facility fee and anesthesia was $250. Not bad for something that was billed out at $2634 but more than “free”.

I presume Dr. Schimpff  is referring to a Hi F plan where after Medicare does their part his share of the cost is to pay the remaining balance up to $2160. Once the deductible is satisfied the Medigap plan pays 100% of remaining approved Medicare A and B charges for the balance of the year.

dr house

In some areas and at some ages the high deductible plan made sense at one time. Here in Georgia someone age 65 could buy a Hi F plan from Blue Cross for less than $40/month a few years ago.

Blue Cross no longer offers Hi F. I assume they lost too much money on the plan. Depending on your age, gender and zip, you can get Hi F for $58 per month. Still not bad, but not great either.

You still have to pay the first $2160 in charges before the plan pays so it probably is a good value as long as you are healthy.

But most clients would rather pay an extra $30 per month and get Medigap plan N with no deductible and a $20 office visit copay.

Plan N is also a good alternative to Advantage plans where you have doctor and hospital networks to contend with.  Most Advantage plans cap your OOP (out of pocket) expenses for approved, in-network claims at $5900 to $6700 while others have no cap.

Why have a plan if there is no upper limit on your OOP expenses?

If you live in Gilmer county there are 7 Medicare Advantage plans available to you but over 170 different Medigap plans and everyone of them, including Hi F, have less out of pocket than the Advantage plans.

Why pay upwards of $90 per month for an Advantage plan that has a network but does not limit your OOP expenses when for the same monthly premium you could have plan N?

Have you checked our plan N rates lately? Plan N is not for everyone but we have a lot of clients looking for great value and they pick plan N based on their needs and budget.

Shop and compare GA Medigap quotes.

Instant rates.

Your information is NEVER sold!

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#FreeColonoscopy #FreeAnnualExam #GeorgiaMedicarePlans #MedigapPlanN  #GAMedigapQuotes

Medicare annual exam, free colonoscopy, free preventive exam, medicare, medigap plan n, medigap rates, obamacre

Don’t Buy Something You Don’t Need

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