The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives has previously introduced its own legislative package that would include vision, dental and hearing coverage in Medicare. The legislation would initially add preventive dental, hearing and vision care to Medicare’s “Part B” program and later expand the benefits to cover basic impairments.
The House bill would reduce what seniors would need to pay out of pocket to access the new services. It treats dental, vision and hearing care the same as existing services covered by Medicare, with no co-pays for preventive care and no more than a 20 percent co-pay for other services — an approach that would lead to higher costs for the government.
The bill would also expand the Medicare eligibility age to those between 60 and 65. However, that part of the bill will be the hardest to pass because of its cost and given the growing concerns about inflation most observers are very skeptical that proposal will be part of the final bill.
