With Medicare coverage, you are sure to save a lot of health care costs, unlike paying for these out of pocket. Most people on Medicare are on a fixed income and have limited income and resources. However, your savings do not have to stop there. You can save more money on your Medicare cover by assessing your health coverage needs and looking for a Medicare coverage option that will fit your present situation. Below are several proven tips that you can use to save more on your Medicare coverage.
Enrolling for Medicaid
You’ve probably heard of Medicaid. It is specially designed for individuals with low resources and income, and you can qualify for Medicaid, which is referred to as a joint federal and state program that does the following:
- Providing benefits generally not covered by Medicare such as personal care services and nursing home care
- Helping with medical costs
It is imperative to note that every state has different regulations about eligibility as well as applying for Medicaid. For this reason, you should consult your state Medicaid program to confirm if you qualify as well as learning more information about the program and how you can apply.
Applying for Extra Help
Extra help is a program under Medicare, helping people with limited resources and income pay for their Medicare prescription drug costs such as deductibles, coinsurance, and premiums. If eligible for Medicaid or the other medicare saving programs, which will be listed under the next point, you will automatically get extra help for your medicare prescription drug costs. However, in case you do not qualify for these, you can go ahead and apply online via SSA gov.
Medicare Savings Programs
Medicare has four programs that can help you cater for your Medicare premiums and other costs. These four saving programs are:
- Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) Program
- Qualifying Individual (QI) Program
- Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) Program
- Qualified Disabled and Working Individuals (QDWI) Program
To find if you qualify for savings through either of these programs and to learn more about them, you can consult your state Medicaid program.
Calculating your anticipated health care costs
The main Medicare coverage options include premium and the monthly or yearly cost of being enrolled. However, it is wise that you take into consideration all the other costs which you may come across the way. There are medicare costs like deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket costs can add up. A plan for your specific health care cost requirements can be entirely different than a plan working well for another.
The network of your plan’s provider
This is a considerable advantage if your plan’s provider has a network of pharmacies and other providers since you will be saving a lot of money by staying in this network when looking for prescription drugs or looking for care. If you stray outside of the network of providers approved by your plan, you will incur extra costs.
