Does Medicare provide mental health benefits?

Medicare does provide some mental health benefits. What is covered depends on several factors including what plan you have. For example, Medicare Part A will help cover mental health care given in a hospital. It will cover your room, meals, nursing and other services. Part B will help pay for mental health services given outside a hospital.

For specific detail about what is and is not covered, your rights as a patient and other important information about Medicare and mental health benefits, see http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/mental.pdf.

Suzanne McGarvey, M.S.,  Consumer and Family Economics, College of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia

Last update: Tuesday, July 05, 2005