I am the one who posted this question.

I picked b.
My reasoning was like this.
Medicare covers the full cost of home health care but doesn't cover the full cost of other nonhospital services.
In other words, medicare doesn't cover all of medical expenses, so beneficiaries must pay 20 percent of the costs.

What's wrong with my understanding?

Also, I have a question regarding what "the costs", which are at the end of the sentence in the choice C, refer to.
Do they refer to the full cost of both home health care and other nonhospital services?
(If they do, I guess my understanding above can be correct.)

Hi All,

Medicare, the United States government's health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, covers the full cost of home health care, but not with other nonhospital services where 20 percent of the costs must be paid by beneficiaries.



Let us first understand the meaning of the sentence. Medicare is the US government’s health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. Medicare covers the full cost of home health care. However, it does not cover the cost of nonhospital services. Now, nonhospital services are services for which beneficiaries are required to pay 20% of the total cost.



Error Analysis:

1. Use of “with” violates the parallelism in the sentence. The two entities in the list should be “the full cost of home health care” and “(the full cost) of other nonhospital services”.
2. Relative pronoun “where” is used to modify places. Use of “where” to talk about a service is incorrect.

POE:

Choice A: but not with other nonhospital services where 20 percent of the costs must be paid by beneficiaries: Incorrect for the reasons stated above.

Choice B: but not of other nonhospital services, making beneficiaries pay 20 percent of the costs: Incorrect. Comma + verb-ing modifier “making” modifies the preceding clause “Medicare… covers the full cost…” and renders the meaning of the sentence illogical.

Choice C: but not of other nonhospital services, for which beneficiaries must pay 20 percent of the costs: Correct. “which” is the correct relative pronoun to modify “nonhospital services”.

Choice D: which is unlike other nonhospital services in that 20 percent of the costs must be paid by beneficiaries: Incorrect. This choice fails to establish the fact that Medicare does not cover the nonhospital services.

Choice E: which is unlike other nonhospital services that make beneficiaries pay 20 percent of the costs: Incorrect. Same error as in Choice D.



1. Comma + verb-ing modifier always modify the preceding clause.
2. Relative pronoun “where” is use for places.
3. Be wary of choice that changes or distorts the intended logical meaning of the sentence.

Hope that helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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