Taking Care of Mom and Dad: How Much Does It Cost?
If either of your parents worked for at least 10 years in a Medicare covered job (meaning one or both of them had deductions withheld from their paycheck for the Medicare payroll tax) and they are a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and eligible for Medicare, there is no charge for Part A (hospital insurance).
Disabled individuals, kidney dialysis and certain transplant patients are not charged, either.
If none of these qualifications fit your parents' circumstances, they may purchase Medicare Part A if they are at least 65 years of age and meet other requirements. The per-month cost in 2002 ranged between $175 and $340.
Finally, when you're thinking about what Medicare Part A costs, it's worth keeping in mind the things that it doesn't cover -- and that you and your parents will likely have to pay for out-of-pocket.
Hospital insurance under Medicare Part A does not cover any of the following:
- private duty nursing;
- charges for a private room, unless medically necessary;
- conveniences, such as a telephone or television in the room;
- the first three pints of blood received during a calendar year (unless replaced by a blood plan).
Medicare pays about half of beneficiaries' health care expenses, on average. The remainder is paid by private supplemental coverage, Medicaid and other public sources, or by the beneficiaries themselves.
According to one study, Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older paid about $2,149, or 19 percent of their income, out-ofpocket for health care in 1997. This included Medicare cost-sharing payments, Medicare Part B and private insurance premiums, balance billing by physicians and payments for goods and services not covered by Medicare. It did not include the cost of home health care services or nursing home care.
