Question: Does Medicare pay for medical services other than hospitals and community mental
Answer: Medicare also uses the outpatient prospective payment system to pay for some
services you get from other facilities. These services include:
- Some Medicare Part B services for inpatient hospital care (like diagnostic x-rays). These services will be paid for if you don’t have Medicare Part A or have used up all of your Medicare Part A benefits.
- Some preventive shots/vaccines (for example, a flu shot), antigens, casts, and splints you can get from a home health agency.
- Some preventive shots/vaccines (like a pneumococcal shot) you get from a comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility.
- Splints, antigens, and casts you get as a hospice patient to treat a non-terminal illness
- Some outpatient services you get at a skilled nursing facility
- Partial hospitalization services you get from a community mental health center. For more information on partial hospitalization, get a free copy of the booklet Medicare and Your Mental Health at How to Get Free Medicare Publications.
