Amber Willink, Cathy Shoen, Karen Davis
Issue: The Medicare program specifically excludes coverage of dental, vision, and hearing services. As a result, many beneficiaries do not receive necessary care. Those that do are subject to high out-of-pocket costs. Goal: Examine gaps in access to dental, vision, and hearing services for Medicare beneficiaries and design a voluntary dental, vision, and hearing benefit plan with cost estimates. Methods: Uses the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, Cost and Use File, 2012, with population and costs projected to 2016 values...
January 1, 2018: Issue Brief of the Commonwealth Fund