What does Medicare
cover?
Very little and often nothing. If a Medicare beneficiary is hospitalized
for at least three days (not counting the day of discharge) and
is certified as needing skilled care, Medicare will pay all costs
for up to 20 days in a skilled care facility. If the beneficiary
continues to be certified as needing skilled care Medicare will
pay part of the costs for up to another 80 days, but the co-payment
in 2009 is $133.50 per day. This co-pay is covered by Medigap policies
C through J, but in Alabama most beneficiaries have Medigap A or
B. (The Blue Cross/Blue Shield “C+” policy popular in
Alabama is actually a Medigap B policy).
Medicare will pay for a limited amount
of home health care under certain conditions,
but even the maximum available reimbursement
is not enough to cover twenty-four hour
care. Care for a chronically ill person
at home is simply not feasible without
family members who can provide the bulk
of it, or enough money to supplement family
and volunteer care.
What about Medicaid?
Medicaid pays for care only after other
resources are exhausted. There are strict
asset limits to qualify, and in Alabama
there is also an income cap, although
there is a way to qualify despite income
over the cap. (See seperate article on Medicaid on this web site.)
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