There’s a new tool that allows Original Medicare (Parts A and B) enrollees and their caregivers to use their mobile devices to determine whether a certain medical item or service is covered by Original Medicare. It’s called the “What’s Covered” app and it was created by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Examples of the kinds of questions the app can answer:
- When are mammograms covered?
- Is home health care covered?
- Will Medicare pay for diabetes supplies?
- Can I get a regular cervical cancer screening?
You can also browse all services using an alphabetized list. Plus, it provides a list of preventative services that Medicare pays for. The app is available in GooglePlay and the Apple App Store.
The app doesn’t provide personalized information based on each user’s specific insurance information, so it doesn’t take into account the user’s supplemental insurance, co-insurance, and deductibles.
It’s projected that the population of people using Medicare will increase almost 50% by 2030. Medicare.gov gets around 15 million page views every year and their 800# (1-800-MEDICARE) gets more than 3 million calls each year with coverage-related questions.
The app is part of the CMS eMedicare initiative, which is focused on modernizing Medicare and empowering patients with the information they need to get the best value from their Medicare coverage.
