Medicare Coverage and Cardiovascular Disease Screenings

February is American Heart Month! Did you know heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women? Medicare offers preventive services like cardiovascular disease screening tests. 

Give your heart some love by taking extra precautions to prevent heart disease. Easily find an affordable health plan—Click Here to search now!

Get Preventive Heart Screenings for Early Detection With Medicare

It is important to detect cardiovascular disease early, and Medicare covers several services to do just that. Medicare covers screening and a prevention program for cardiovascular disease. It also covers doctor visits and diagnostic tools, as well as medications and even surgery.

Let’s dig a little deeper into Medicare coverage and cardiovascular disease.

What is Medicare cardiovascular coverage?

Original Medicare

Original Medicare consists of Part A, hospitalization insurance, and Part B, medical insurance.

Part A covers:

• heart conditions that require surgery, such as coronary bypass
• heart procedures, such as cardiac catheterization
• cardiovascular illnesses that require a hospital stay

Part B covers:

• screenings
• doctor visits
• diagnostic tools, such as scans, echocardiograms, and stress tests
• cardiac rehabilitation program

Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage, Part C, is the alternative to original Medicare and therefore provides Parts A and B benefits for cardiovascular disease. Many Advantage plans offer prescription drug coverage, which would include medications for the heart. Some plans also have a program to help a person quit smoking.

Part D

Part D is prescription drug coverage, which someone with original Medicare may buy. Each Part D plan has a formulary that has commonly prescribed medications, including those for cardiovascular disease.

Medicare Cardiovascular Disease Coverage

Medicare Part B covers cardiovascular screening blood tests once every five years. These screenings include blood tests for cholesterol, lipid and triglyceride levels that help detect conditions that may lead to a heart attack or stroke.

During your heart disease screening, your provider may discover and need to investigate or treat a new or existing problem. This additional care is considered diagnostic, meaning your provider is treating you because of certain symptoms or risk factors. 

While preventive services have total coverage, diagnostic procedures and treatments may require you to pay a portion of the bill. A Medigap plan can reduce the amount you must pay for procedures.

Cardiac Rehabilitation

Medicare coverage also includes cardiac rehabilitation. Cardiac rehabilitation programs provide various services if you have a heart condition, including exercise, education and counseling.

Your Local Medicare Agent

Heart conditions can be painful and costly. Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans focus on preventive care, which can help you avoid serious cardiac conditions and events and do not require you to meet a deductible or pay coinsurance.

There are many Medicare plan options available to you in your area, and no income restrictions for these plans. I can help you find the Medicare plan that is right for you. I will assist you with the entire process until you are completely satisfied with the selections you’ve made.  Contact me or go online to find an affordable health plan today.