Services Not Covered by Medicare

  • Long Term custodial care (nursing home)
  • Private hospital room (unless determined to be medically necessary), telephone and television
  • Private duty nursing
  • First 3 pints of blood, if you cannot replace them in some manner
  • Routine physical care, other than the “Welcome to Medicare” one time physical exam
  • Dental care and dentures
  • Routine hearing exams and hearing aids
  • Routine eye exams and eyeglasses, except cataract lenses (routine eye exams for individuals with medical conditions which affect sight may be covered)
  • All over-the-counter drugs
  • Routine podiatry care (care for persons with certain medical conditions, such as diabetes or vascular heart disease, may be covered)
  • Inpatient psychiatric care, after 190 days (lifetime limit)
  • Acupuncture, and most chiropractic services
  • Cosmetic surgery, unless after injury or to improve the function of a malformed body part
  • Full-time home care, homemaker services, home-delivered meals
  • Christian Science practitioners and Naturopath’s services
  • Orthopedic shoes, unless part of a leg brace and included in orthopedist’s charges or vascular or nerve defects due to diabetes.
  • Ambulance services unless medically necessary
  • Services provided outside the United States (except for certain hospital and physician services in Canada or Mexico, under certain conditions)
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