Medicare beneficiaries still face high out-of-pocket expenses for dental, vision and hearing services, according to a recent study published in Health Affairs.
For the study, researchers from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and the University of Maryland in College Park analyzed data from the 2016 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey.
While the data showed Medicare Advantage plans are filling a gap in dental, vision and hearing coverage that beneficiaries with traditional Medicare face, out-of-pocket expenses are still prevalent. For example, the researchers found even among Medicare Advantage policyholders, out-of-pocket expenses made up 70 percent of dental spending, 62 percent of vision spending and 79 percent of hearing spending.
"While Medicare beneficiaries are enrolling in private coverage options, they are not getting adequate financial protection," the researchers concluded.
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