Most people on Medicare also have supplemental insurance for whatever Medicare doesn’t cover. If a person can’t afford the supplemental insurance, is there any kind of government assistance available, or is he just SOL for whatever isn’t covered?
Medicare consists of several parts. Part A (aka Hospital Insurance Benefits) is automatic if you are entitled to Old Age Insurance Benefits, and automatic after two years if entitled to Disability Insurance Benefits. For an additional premium, you can purchase Part B . Part B includes many services Part A doesn’t: doctor visits, services and supplies incidental thereto, durable medical equipment, etc. Part B is also known as Supplementary Medical Insurance. Most people also purchase a private supplemental insurance, which covers the deductible imposed by Medicare and some other expenses Medicare doesn’t cover. Most supplemental insurance policies cover 80% of drug costs, so a separate drug policy, under the auspices of the government - which is fairly recent - is not necessary.
To answer your question, the government already subsidizes Part A and partly subsidizes Part B.
When buying insurance above and beyond Medicare A/B: If you can’t afford it, you’re SOL.
Unless you qualify for Medicaid, in which case it will act as a secondary to Medicare.
If you are destitute and have assets under a certain level, you can be dual eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. I believe this results in nothing more than nominal copays for the beneficiary, but I am not familiar enough with Medicaid to speak intelligently. I believe eligibility for Medicaid is different for those eligible for Medicare, as opposed to the younger population, but I also am not 100% sure.
However, to answer your question, he would indeed be shit out of luck to purchase Med-Supp, but it would be redundant since Medicaid would cover the vast majority of out of pocket costs anyway. I do know there are Medicare Advantage plans that accept Medicare/Medicaid dual eligibles, known as Special Need Plans, but I am not familiar with the logistics. I assume there is a $0 premium.