Does Medicare cover dental, vision, and hearing?
The short answer
Original Medicare (Parts A and B) does not cover routine dental, vision, or hearing care. Some Medicare Advantage plans include these benefits, but coverage varies widely by plan.
The full explanation
This is one of the biggest surprises for people new to Medicare. Original Medicare, meaning the federal Part A and Part B program, was designed around hospital and medical care. It does not pay for routine dental cleanings, fillings, or dentures. It does not cover eye exams for glasses or the glasses themselves. And it generally does not cover hearing exams or hearing aids. There are narrow exceptions. Medicare will cover certain dental work that is medically necessary before a heart procedure, for example, or an eye exam if you have diabetes-related eye disease. But day-to-day dental, vision, and hearing care? That falls outside the traditional program. This is where Medicare Advantage plans come in. Many of these plans, offered by private insurers, bundle in some level of dental, vision, and hearing benefits. The catch is that coverage varies a lot from plan to plan and year to year. One plan might cover two cleanings a year and a modest allowance for hearing aids. Another might offer very little. You need to read the plan details carefully before enrolling, and verify current benefits directly with the plan, since they can change annually.
Related Medicare Resources
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In Utah, carriers like SelectHealth, Humana, and UHC offer Medicare Advantage plans that include varying dental, vision, and hearing benefits. If you live in a rural county like Garfield or Kane, your plan choices may be more limited, so it is worth checking what is actually available in your zip code.
What this means for you
For you, this means if dental, vision, or hearing coverage matters, Original Medicare alone will not provide it, and you will need to either choose a Medicare Advantage plan that includes those benefits or purchase separate supplemental coverage.
Related Questions
Are dental and vision benefits on Medicare Advantage plans worth it?
What does Medicare not cover?
What is Medicare Advantage?
If I only focus on dental and vision extras, what am I missing?
