Medicare Part B
Medicare Part B
Medicare Part B is vital to anyone needing a Medicare policy. It allows you to get many different types of healthcare services at lower costs. Here we will look deeper into Part B, including the process of getting it as well as what to expect once you have it.
Interested in learning more?
What it is
This Medicare Part has an enormous variety of treatments covered. Part B helps you pay for anything you get outside the hospital – that’s doctor visits, durable medical equipment, home health services, plus any other treatment you get as an outpatient.
Medicare Part B plays an integral role in getting additional coverage beyond what Original Medicare can offer. Example – Medicare Supplements. If you don’t have Part B, you cannot get Medicare Supplements, which can eliminate many out-of-pocket costs that would be left up to you after Medicare pays its share. Part B is also needed for Medicare Advantage.
How to get it
Medicare Part B enrollment can be automatic or require a separate signup. In order for it to be automatic, you must be getting Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board benefits. If you receive these benefits already, then you will get a Medicare card in the mail roughly three months before your 65th birthday. The policy goes into effect on the first day of the first month you turn 65. Also, you don’t have to be 65 to get Medicare Part B if you have been getting disability benefits for 24 months.
If you do not get Social Security benefits, you will need to enroll. The best time to join is during the Initial Enrollment Period (IEP), which is a seven-month period beginning the three months before your birth month and ending the three months after it. If you wait past the IEP, you will have to wait until the General Enrollment Period (GEP), which lasts from January 1 to March 31, with coverage effective July 1.
Costs
You must pay the annual deductible before Medicare Part B covers you. This amount, much like the premium, changes every year, so for 2021, the deductible is $203. The standard premium is $148.50 in 2021. The premium amount varies from plan to plan.
When you get outpatient treatments, Medicare approves a specific dollar amount, and it pays 80% of that amount. You are typically left with 20% to pay out-of-pocket. The exceptions here are with non-participating and opt-out physicians, and Medicare Supplements. A non-participating physician can accept Medicare, but may charge you up to an additional 15% (this is known as an excess charge). Opt-out physicians will not accept Medicare at all, and with those, you would have to bear the costs of all expenses. Medicare Supplements are optional, but they’re helpful in leaving you with no out-of-pocket costs.
Part B late fees accrue an extra 10% for every year you don’t join after missing your IEP. These late fees are permanent, which is why you need to take advantage of your IE.
We can help!
Medicare Part B is one of the many policies we at Medicare With Jake offer to people like you. Our services extend from our location in Wichita, Kansas to you. Steep medical bills aren’t exclusive to the hospital. Over time, the office visits, as well as the services that take place within them, have costs that add up quickly. Medicare Part B mitigates the anxiety that comes with accumulating medical bills.
