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Medicare is offered to U.S. citizens aged 65 or older who have paid their social security taxes for at least 10 years. Though Medicare covers many expenses, such as hospitalization, procedures and medications, it does not cover every medical expense that a senior citizen may incur. This is why senior citizens need to purchase their own health insurance or find another means of paying out-of-pocket expenses not covered by Medicare. These costs include cosmetic procedures, health care costs incurred outside of the United States, dental care, dentures, hearing screens, hearing aids, eye screens and eyeglasses. Senior citizens can purchase a Medicare Advantage Plan to cover some of these services. The Medicare Advantage Plan works like a standard HMO or PPO insurance plan.

Medicare Part B is a voluntary enrollment program that costs around $80 per month, which is typically deducted from the participant's monthly social security payment. Part B picks up charges that the standard Medicare program does not cover, including office visits, lab and X-ray tests, and other standard procedures that are not associated with hospital visits. Note that this plan does not cover eye and ear tests and aids, or cosmetic procedures. The standard Medicare plan mostly covers diagnosed conditions and procedures--not the accompanying tests and office visits required for the diagnoses--so Part B can help cover these additional expenses. Keep in mind, however, that many individuals have insurance through employers, a working spouse or their union that may provide better coverage than Medicare Part B.

The elderly need to read their insurance policies carefully to ensure that they understand how Medicare works with their insurance plan. Medicare makes many concessions and works well with group insurance plans, but does not necessarily make as many concessions when individual insurance plans are concerned. Many individual insurance contracts will clearly state that Medicare will not provide any benefits, as the private insurance company has been designated to provide coverage to the individual. This means that any benefits not covered by the private insurer will not be picked up by Medicare, even if the medical cost would typically be covered under Medicare's guidelines. Think hard about whether a private insurance plan will benefit you and your circumstances--or if you would be better off enrolling in Part B or a group insurance plan