Part B – What’s Not Covered

Items and services that Medicare doesn’t cover include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

• Acupuncture.
• Chiropractic services
• Cosmetic surgery
• Custodial care – except when you also get skilled nursing care in a skilled nursing facility, at home, or as part of hospice care
• Deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments when you get certain health care services. People with limited income and resources may get help paying these costs.
• Dental care and dentures (with a few exceptions)
• Eye exams (routine), eye refractions (exam that measures how well you see at specific distances), and eyeglasses
• Foot care (routine), like cutting corns or calluses (with few exceptions)
• Hearing aids and exams for the purpose of fitting a hearing aid
• Hearing tests that haven’t been ordered by your doctor
• Laboratory tests (screening)
• Long-term care
• Orthopedic shoes (with few exceptions)
• Physical exams (routine or yearly). Medicare will cover a one‑-time physical exam
• Prescription drugs (with few exceptions)
• Shots to prevent illness
• Surgical procedures given in ambulatory surgical centers that aren’t included on Medicare’s list of ambulatory surgical center covered procedures
• Syringes or insulin. Insulin used with an insulin pump is covered by Part  B. Syringes or insulin may be covered by Part  D
• Travel