AHIP 2025 Final Exam Q&A

Mr. Rainey is experiencing paranoid delusions and his physician feels that he should be hospitalized. What should you tell Mr. Rainey (or his representative) about the length of an inpatient psychiatric hospital stay that Medicare will cover? - ANSWER Medicare will cover a total of 190 days of inpatient psychiatric care during Mr. Rainey's entire lifetime. Mrs. Duarte is enrolled in Original Medicare Parts A and B. She has recently reviewed her Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) and disagrees with a determination that partially denied one of her claims for services. What advice would you give her? - ANSWER Mrs. Duarte should file an appeal of this initial determination within 120 days of the date she received the MSN in the mail. Anita Magri will turn age 65 in August 2023. Anita intends to enroll in Original Medicare Part A and Part B. She would also like to enroll in a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan. Anita's older neighbor Mel has told her about the Medigap Plan F in which he is enrolled. It not only provides foreign travel emergency benefits but also covers his Medicare Part B deductible. Anita comes to you for advice. What should you tell her? - ANSWER You are sorry to disappoint Anita, but a Medigap F plan is no longer available to those who turn age 65 after January 1, 2020. Anita might instead consider other Medigap plans that offer foreign travel benefits but do not cover the Part B deductible. Mrs. Paterson is concerned about the deductibles and co-payments associated with Original Medicare. What can you tell her about Medigap as an option to address this concern? - ANSWER Medigap plans do not cover Original Medicare benefits, but they coordinate with Original Medicare coverage. Mrs. Shields is covered by Original Medicare. She sustained a hip fracture and is being successfully treated for that condition. However, she and her physicians feel that after her lengthy hospital stay, she will need a month or two of nursing and rehabilitative care. What should you tell them about Original Medicare's coverage of care in a skilled nursing facility? - ANSWER Medicare will cover Mrs. Shield's skilled nursing services profided during the first 20 days of her stay, after which she would have a copay until she has been in the facility for 100 days. Mrs. Park is an elderly retiree. Mrs. Park has a low fixed income. What could you tell Mrs. Park that might be of assistance? - ANSWER She should contact her state Medicaid agency to see if she qualifies for one of several programs that can help with Medicare costs for which she is responsible. Mr. Patel is in good health and is preparing a budget in anticipation of his retirement when he turns 66. He wants to understand the health care costs he might be exposed to under Medicare if he were to require hospitalization because of an illness. In general terms, what could you tell him about his costs for inpatient hospital services under Original Medicare? - ANSWER Under Original Medicare there is a single deductible amount due for the first 60 days of any inpatient hospital stay, after which it converts into a per day coinsurance amount up to 60 days over his lifetime, after which he would be responsible for all costs. Mrs. Quinn recently turned 66 and decided after many years of work to retire and begin receiving Social Security benefits. Shortly thereafter Mrs. Quinn received a letter informing her that she had been automatically enrolled in Medicare Part B. She wants to understand what this means. What should you tell Mrs. Quinn? - ANSWER Part B primarily covers physician services. She will be paying a monthly premium and except for many preventative and screening tests, generally will have 20% copayments for these services, in addition to an annual deductible. Mr. Diaz continued working with his company and was insured under his employer's group plan until he reached age 68. He has heard that there is a premium penalty for those who did not sign up for Part B when first eligible and wants to know how much he will have to pay. What should you tell him? - ANSWER Mr. Diaz will not pay any penalty because he had continuous coverage under his employers plan. Mrs. Gonzalez is enrolled in Original Medicare and has a Medigap policy as well, but it provides no drug coverage. She would like to keep the coverage she has but replace her existing Medigap plan with one that provides drug coverage. What should you tell her? - ANSWER Mrs Gonzalex cannot purchase a Medigap plan that covers drugs but she could keep her Medigap policy and enroll in a Part D prescription drug plan. Mr. Xi will soon turn age 65 and has come to you for advice as to what services are provided under Original Medicare. What should you tell Mr. Xi that best describes the health coverage provided to Medicare beneficiaries? - ANSWER Beneficiaries under Original Medicare have no cost sharing for most preventive services. Ms. Brooks has aggressive cancer and would like to know if Medicare will cover hospice services in case she needs them. What should you tell her? - ANSWER Medicare covers hospice services and they will be available for her. Mr. Davis is 52 years old and has recently been diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and will soon begin dialysis. He is wondering if he can obtain coverage under Medicare. What should you tell him? - ANSWER He may sign up for Medicare at any time however coverage usually begins on the fourth month after dialysis treatments start. Mrs. Chen will be 65 soon, has been a citizen for twelve years, has been employed full time, and paid taxes during that entire period. She is concerned that she will not qualify for coverage under part A because she was not born in the United States. What should you tell her? - ANSWER Most individuals who are citizens and age 65 or over are covered under Part A by virtue of having paid Medicare taxes while working though some may be covered as a result of paying monthly premiums. Mrs. West wears glasses and dentures and has enjoyed considerable pain relief from arthritis through massage therapy. She is concerned about whether or not Medicare will cover these items and services. What should you tell her? - ANSWER Medicare does not cover massage therapy or in general glasses or dentures. Mr. Alonso receives some help paying for his two generic prescription drugs from his employer's retiree coverage, but he wants to compare it to a Part D prescription drug plan. He asks you what costs he would generally expect to encounter when enrolling into a standard Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. What should you tell him? - ANSWER He generally would pay a monthly premium annual deductible and per prescription cost sharing. Mrs. Geisler's neighbor told her she should look at her Part D options during the annual Medicare enrollment period because the features of Part D might have changed. Mrs. Geisler can't remember what Part D is so she called you to ask what her neighbor was talking about.