While Medicare covers most health care costs for more than 65 million Americans, it does not cover all of them and the remaining bills can add up quickly. For Medicare beneficiaries who qualify based on having low-income and limited assets, the Medicare Savings Programs (MSP) will cover some of those costs.
Medicare beneficiaries need to pay out of pocket for their premiums and they need to pay their deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments when buying prescription drugs, seeing a doctor or other health care providers, and if they need inpatient or outpatient hospital care, says Kata M. Kertesz, a senior policy attorney for the Center for Medicare Advocacy, a national, nonprofit law organization in Willimantic, Conn., and Washington, D.C.
