Medicare covers a variety of generic and brand-name prescription drugs, including antidepressants, to treat mental health conditions.

Because antidepressants are a protected drug class, all Part D plans will cover most of these medications. That said, not every plan will cover every possible antidepressant.

Your cost for antidepressants will depend on several factors. The cost of generic antidepressants, for example, is significantly less than price of the brand-name versions.

Every plan structures costs a little differently, and your costs often depend on your premium and deductible as well.

Original Medicare (parts A and B), Medicare Advantage (Part C), and prescription drug (Part D) plans cover different aspects of mental health treatment.

The part of Medicare that covers antidepressants depends on where you receive the medication.

Part A is inpatient hospital insurance. It covers inpatient mental health services at a general or psychiatric hospital, including the administration of antidepressant medications and other drugs during your stay.

Most people do not pay a monthly Part A premium. If you aren’t eligible for premium-free Part A, you’ll pay $285 or $518 each month in 2025.

Here are the basic costs for an inpatient hospital stay in 2025:

  • $1,676 deductible for each benefit period
  • $0 coinsurance for days 1 to 60 of treatment after you pay your deductible
  • $419 coinsurance per day for days 61 to 90 of treatment
  • $838 coinsurance per day for days 91 to 150 of treatment while using your 60 lifetime reserve days
  • 100% of the treatment costs for days 151 and beyond

Part A covers up to 190 days of inpatient mental health services in a freestanding psychiatric hospital during your lifetime.

This limit doesn’t apply to mental health services you receive in a psychiatric unit within an acute care or critical access hospital.

Part B is outpatient medical insurance. It covers partial hospitalization mental health services, including the administration of antidepressant medications and other drugs at the treatment facility.

In 2025, most people will pay a monthly premium of $185. Your premium may be higher depending on your income.

After you pay the $257 deductible, you’ll generally pay 20% of all Medicare-approved costs for covered services. This is known as cost-sharing or coinsurance.

Part C is an alternative to Original Medicare that private companies offer. It must cover the same basic services, including inpatient and outpatient mental health care.

Many Part C plans also include Part D coverage for prescription drugs. This is known as a Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MAPD) plan.

Each Part C plan sets its own cost and coverage amounts. The premiums, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance amounts you’ll pay depend on your specific plan.

Staying in network — which means getting care from a list of approved healthcare professionals and facilities, including filling your prescriptions at certain pharmacies — typically costs less than going out of network.

Part C plans limit what you’ll pay out of pocket each year for covered services. Once you reach the plan’s out-of-pocket maximum, it will pay 100% of all approved costs for the rest of the calendar year.

Part D is prescription drug coverage. You can purchase a stand-alone prescription drug plan as an add-on to Original Medicare or enroll in an MAPD plan.

Each Part D plan sets its own cost and coverage amounts. The amount of coverage each plan provides depends on its formulary and tier system.

A formulary is a list of medications the plan covers. Those medications are then divided into groups, or tiers, typically based on cost. For example:

  • Tier 1 ($): generics
  • Tier 2 ($$): preferred brand names
  • Tier 3 ($$$): nonpreferred brand names
  • Tier 4 ($$$$): specialty

Although all prescription drug plans are required to cover antidepressant medications, your plan may not cover the exact medication you or your healthcare professional request. But a similar antidepressant should be available.

If a suitable replacement is unavailable, or your healthcare professional believes a specific antidepressant is your best option for treatment, you can file for an exception with Medicare.

You can also file for an exception if your specific antidepressant is in a more expensive tier than similar but unsuitable drugs, as identified by your prescribing physician. You may be eligible for a lower copayment.

If you don’t qualify for a formulary exception, you must pay the full out-of-pocket price for your specific antidepressant or switch to a Medicare-approved alternative.

Your plan may also have rules about where you fill your prescriptions. Your plan’s network might offer a discount for using a preferred pharmacy or mail-order program.

Part A covers inpatient administration of antidepressant drugs during a covered hospital stay. Part B covers outpatient administration during partial hospitalization.

Part C, or Medicare Advantage, covers inpatient and outpatient mental health care, as well as prescription drug coverage. If you have Original Medicare, you can purchase a stand-alone Part D plan for drug coverage.

Your out-of-pocket costs depend on what part of Medicare you have, whether you’re accessing inpatient or outpatient mental health services, and whether you receive brand-name or generic antidepressant drugs.