Fraud

• Medicare fraud includes bills sent to Medicare for services and medical supplies that patients never receive. According to an article on MSNBC in January 2010, Medicare loses more than $60 million every year due to fraud.
  
  

Acceptance

• Not all doctors accept Medicare. Patients in some areas may have trouble finding a doctor that accepts it, especially if they need to see a specialist.
  
  

High Co-Pays

• Medicare Part A covers inpatient care. However, patients that require a great deal of inpatient care must pay fairly significant co-pays. As of 2010, patients pay $1,100 for days one to 60 in each benefit period. Patients then pay $275 per day for days 61 to 90 and $550 per day after that. This amount usually increases every year.
  
  

Cost of Mental Health Care

• Medicare covers mental health care but at lower rates than other outpatient medical care. In 2010, Medicare pays 80 percent of most outpatient services, such as visits to a doctor's office, but only 55 percent of outpatient mental health care like counseling.
  
  

Services Not Covered

• Medicare does not cover some services, including most dental care, dentures and hearing aids. Medicare recipients may have difficulty paying for these things.