{"id":557282,"date":"2026-01-31T22:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T22:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/557282\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T22:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T22:42:09","slug":"what-medicare-wont-pay-for-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/557282\/","title":{"rendered":"What Medicare won\u2019t pay for in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dear Savvy Senior,<\/strong><\/p>\n

To avoid any future health care surprises, can you tell me what original Medicare doesn\u2019t cover in 2026?<\/p>\n

\u2014 New Beneficiary<\/p>\n

Dear Beneficiary, <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a great question. While original Medicare \u2014 Part A and B \u2014 covers a wide array of health care services after you turn 65, it doesn\u2019t cover everything.<\/p>\n

If you need or want certain services that aren\u2019t covered, you\u2019ll have to pay for them yourself, unless you have other insurance or you enroll in a Medicare Advantage health plan \u2014 which may provide some additional benefits.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at some commonly needed medical services that original Medicare doesn\u2019t pick up the tab for.<\/p>\n

Most dental care:<\/strong> Routine dental care \u2014 including checkups, cleanings, x-rays, fillings, root canals, tooth extractions and dentures \u2014 is not covered by original Medicare.<\/p>\n

Routine vision care:<\/strong> Medicare does not cover routine eye exams, eyeglasses or contact lenses, except following cataract surgery). However, tests, treatments and surgeries for medical eye diseases like cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration are covered.<\/p>\n

Hearing aids:<\/strong> Original Medicare will not pay for hearing exams or hearing aids but may cover a hearing and balance exam if your doctor determines it\u2019s necessary.<\/p>\n

Prescription drugs:<\/strong> Medicare Part A and Part B don\u2019t provide coverage for outpatient prescription drugs, but you can buy a separate Part D prescription-drug policy that does.<\/p>\n

Alternative medicine:<\/strong> Acupuncture (except to treat low back pain), chiropractic services (except to correct a vertebral subluxation of the spine), and other types of alternative or complementary care are not covered by Medicare.<\/p>\n

Cosmetic surgery:<\/strong> Most cosmetic procedures are not covered by original Medicare. However, if the surgery is due to an injury or deformity, Medicare might pay. For example, Medicare will cover a breast prosthesis for breast cancer survivors.<\/p>\n

Foot care:<\/strong> Medicare does not cover most routine foot care, like the cutting or removing of corns, calluses and toenails. But Part A and Part B do cover medically necessary podiatrist services for foot problems like hammertoes, bunions and heel spurs, along with exams, treatments and therapeutic shoes or inserts if you have diabetic foot problems.<\/p>\n

Long-term care:<\/strong> Nursing home care and assisted living facilities are not covered by Medicare. But Medicare will help pay up to 100 days of skilled nursing or rehabilitation care immediately following a hospital stay of three or more days.<\/p>\n

Personal home care:<\/strong> If you need to hire help for bathing, dressing or getting out of bed, Medicare typically won\u2019t cover these costs either, unless you are homebound and are also receiving skilled nursing care. Housekeeping services \u2014 such as shopping, meal preparation and cleaning \u2014 are not covered either unless you are receiving hospice care.<\/p>\n

Adult diapers:<\/strong> Medicare does not cover the cost of adult diapers or other incontinence supplies. These items are considered personal hygiene items rather than medical treatments.<\/p>\n

Overseas coverage:<\/strong> In most cases, health care outside of the United States is not covered by Medicare except for very limited circumstances \u2014 such as on a cruise ship within six hours of a U.S. port.<\/p>\n

The best way to find out what original Medicare covers is to talk to your health care provider, visit Medicare.gov\/coverage<\/a> and type in your test, item or service, or download the Medicare \u201cWhat\u2019s covered\u201d app on the App Store<\/a> or Google Play<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also, keep in mind that even if Medicare covers a service or item, it doesn\u2019t pay 100% of the cost. You will have to pay a monthly Part B premium (which is $202.90 for most beneficiaries in 2026). Unless you have supplemental insurance, you\u2019ll have to pay your annual deductibles and co-payments, too. However, most preventive services are covered 100% by Medicare with no co-pays or deductible<\/p>\n

Send your questions or comments to questions@savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t \t \t \t=htmlentities(get_the_title())?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=get_permalink()?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=htmlentities(‘For more stories like this one, be sure to visit https:\/\/www.eastidahonews.com\/ for all of the latest news, community events and more.’)?>&subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20EastIdahoNews” class=”fa-stack jDialog”> \t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dear Savvy Senior, To avoid any future health care surprises, can you tell me what original Medicare doesn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":557283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[210,1141,1142,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-557282","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-care","10":"tag-healthcare","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115992130085886431","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}