Medicare and COVID-19 Rolling Updates

By March 12, 2020Newsletter
Medicare and COVID-19

Medicare Coverage

Medicare will cover COVID-19 vaccines and tests at 100% prior to any deductibles. Please present your red, white, and blue Medicare ID card for billing purposes regardless where you receive the vaccine. Therefore, if you receive your vaccine at a pharmacy your Part D (aka Rx or prescription drug plan) will not be covering the vaccine, but your Medicare ID card will.
Please read more information about the COVID-19 vaccine on the CDC’s website here.

COVID-19 Update:

At a media briefing on 3/11/2020, the World Health Organization’s Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom announced that COVID-19 is now officially a pandemic.

How This Affects You

The CDC states that individuals with the following characteristics are at a higher risk of becoming very sick:

  • Older adults
  • Individuals with serious chronic medical conditions such as:
    • Heart disease
    • Diabetes
    • Lung disease

The CDC recommends that anyone with a higher risk take the following precautions:

  • Talk with your doctor to make sure you are prepared
  • Have supplies on hand (prescription medications, groceries, etc.)
  • Have a plan for if you get sick
  • Take everyday precautions such as:
    • Clean your hands often
    • Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated areas (elevators, planes, theaters, etc.)
    • Avoid all non-essential travel (plane trips, cruise ships, etc.)
    • Limit handshaking
    • Limit touching high-touch surfaces in public areas (door handles, handrails, etc.)
    • Stay at home as much as possible

Read the details and find more tips on the CDC website here.

The team here at Plan Medigap understands that the threat is highest for the age demographic of most of our clients. We will do our best to keep you updated on your Medicare coverage as it pertains to COVID-19. We hope that you all stay healthy and as always, please call us if you have any questions regarding your health insurance needs!