Medicare Doesn't Cover Everything

Medicare doesn't cover everything. Here is a partial list of what is not paid by Medicare.

Routine dental care, dentures, crowns, bridges, routine eye exams, eyeglasses, contacts, cosmetic surgery unrelated to illness or injury, OTC vitamins and supplements, hearing exams, hearing aids, long term care, medical treatment outside the country.

Most of these items were not covered by your employer group health plan either. Things like vision, dental and hearing were covered by insurance plans OTHER THAN your major medical. You probably had a separate plan for dental and another for vision care.

Different policy.

Different insurance carrier.

Should You Buy Extra Insurance?

In many cases you can purchase separate insurance coverage for the following.

- dental care
- vision coverage
- hearing exams and hearing aids
- international travel medical
- hospital indemnity
- cancer plans
- critical illness

The list goes on.

But before spending good money on these kinds of insurance, ask yourself if you really need it?

I make an exception for International Travel Medical. That is something you should definitely consider when traveling outside the country. But for the rest of the list . . .

Do you need to spend $40 - $60 per month for a dental plan that limits your annual benefit to $1,000?

Do you need to pay monthly premiums of $50 per month for a plan that pays $600 per day for inpatient care only?

Most people would be better off stuffing that money in a mattress than paying for additional insurance that may never pay off.