Medicare Patients

Piedmont Augusta Business Center
1230 Walton Way (corner of Walton Way and 13th St.)
Augusta, GA 30901
706.828.2333 or 800.763.0250

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Medicare Advantage Private
Fee for Service Plans

Piedmont Augusta and Piedmont McDuffie participates with most Medicare Advantage Private Fee for Service Medicare plans. These plans replace Medicare and their members can go to any Medicare-participating providers that choose to participate.  To ensure that Piedmont Augusta participates with your plan, please call Scheduling and Benefits for assistance at 706.774.7779 Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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MEDICARE Card Requirement

Piedmont Augusta and Piedmont McDuffie are required to copy or review your Medicare card each time service is provided at one of our facilities. Piedmont Augusta is also required to ask you the Medicare Secondary Payer Questionaire. Although you have answered these questions before, Piedmont Augusta is required to ask them again. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Some of the information for the Medicare questionnaire includes:

  • Social Security numbers for patient and spouse (if the patient is a minor, Social Security numbers for parents and the minor patient)
  • Retirement dates for patient and spouse
  • Both parents' dates of birth for a minor patient
  • Employment information for patient and spouse and parents of minors

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How Medicare Covers Self-Administered
Drugs Given in Hospital Outpatient Settings

Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) generally covers care you get in a hospital outpatient setting, like an emergency department, observation unit, surgery center, or pain clinic. Part B only covers certain drugs in these settings, like drugs given through an IV (intravenous infusion).

Sometimes people with Medicare need “self-administered drugs” while in hospital outpatient settings. “Self-administered drugs” are drugs you would normally take on your own. Part B generally doesn’t pay for self-administered drugs unless they are required for the hospital outpatient services you’re getting.

If you get self-administered drugs that aren’t covered by Medicare Part B while in a hospital outpatient setting, the hospital may bill you for the drug. However, if you are enrolled in a Medicare drug plan (Part D), these drugs may be covered.

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What you should know about
Medicare drug plans (Part D)
and self-administered drugs

  • Generally, your Medicare drug plan only covers prescription drugs and won’t pay for over-the-counter drugs, like Tylenol® or Milk-of-Magnesia®.
  • Any drug you get needs to be on your Medicare drug plan’s formulary (or covered by an exception).
  • You can’t get your self-administered drugs in an outpatient or emergency department setting on a regular basis.
  • Your Medicare drug plan will check to see if you could have gotten these self-administered drugs from an in-network pharmacy.
  • You will need to pay upfront and out-of-pocket for these drugs and submit the claim to your Medicare drug plan for a refund.
  • If possible, bring any drugs (or a list of drugs you are taking) with you to the hospital and show them to the staff. It helps the hospital staff to know what drugs you take at home.

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Common Q&A about how
Medicare drug plans (Part D)
cover self-administered drugs

What should I do if I get a bill for self-administered drugs that aren’t covered by Part B in a hospital outpatient setting?

  • Follow the instructions in your Medicare drug plan’s enrollment materials on how to submit an out-of-network claim, or call your plan for information about how to submit a claim.
  • Your plan will ask you to send certain information, like the emergency room bill that shows what self-administered drugs you were given. You may also need to explain the reason for your hospital visit. Keep copies of any receipts and any paperwork you send your plan.

What will my Medicare drug plan do?

  • Your Medicare drug plan will check to see if the drug is on your Medicare drug plan’s formulary; otherwise, you may need to file an exception.
  • Your plan may ask you if you could have reasonably gotten any of the drugs from a participating network pharmacy. For example, if you could have taken a dose of a drug that you got from your network pharmacy before your outpatient hospital appointment, your Medicare drug plan may not pay you back for that drug.
  • If the drug is covered by your Medicare drug plan, your plan may only reimburse you the in-network cost for the drug minus any deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance that you would normally be charged for the drug.

What will I have to pay for self-administered drugs that aren’t covered by Part B?

  • If the drug is covered by your Medicare drug plan, you may need to pay the difference between what the hospital charged and what the plan paid in addition to any deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance you would normally pay. This amount counts towards your Part D out-of-pocket costs. You must submit the claim to your plan for it to count towards your out-of-pocket costs.
  • If the drug isn’t covered by your Medicare drug plan, you need to pay what the hospital charges for the drug. As mentioned above, you can always request an exception if your plan tells you a drug isn’t on their formulary.

Where can I get more help?

  • Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Every state and territory, plus Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia, has a SHIP with counselors who can give you free health insurance information and help. To get the telephone number for your SHIP, visit www.medicare.gov/contacts, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.
  • For information on how to appeal any decision made by your Medicare drug plan, check your plan’s enrollment materials or call your plan.
  • Call 1-800-MEDICARE.

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