Medicare only covers medically necessary surgical procedures. Medicare defines medically necessary services as “health care services or supplies that are needed to diagnose or treat an illness, injury, condition, disease, or its symptoms – and that meet accepted standards of medicine.” Medicare further defines medically necessary services as ones that:
– Are proper and needed for the diagnosis or treatment of your medical condition.
– Are provided for the diagnosis, direct care, and treatment of your medical condition.
– Meet the standards of good medical practice in the local area and are not mainly for your or your doctor’s convenience.
To see a list of covered services, including surgeries, you can search the Medicare website at Medicare.gov.
Even if a surgery is covered, you may still have out-of-pocket costs in the form of deductibles, coinsurance, or copays that you are required to pay.