Part A is Hospital Insurance for Confinement in a hospital or Skilled Nursing facility per benefit period

What does Part A Cover?

Inpatient care in a hospital

Medicare covers semi-private rooms, meals, general nursing, and drugs as part of your inpatient treatment, and other hospital services and supplies. You pay a deductible for days 1-60 of each benefit period.

(A benefit period begins on the first day you receive service as an inpatient and ends after you have been out of the hospital and have not received skilled care in any other facility for 60 days in a row)

You pay a deductible and no coinsurance amount per day for days 1-60 of each benefit period

You pay a coinsurance amount per day for days 61-90 of each benefit period

You pay a coinsurance amount after day 90 of each benefit period (these are lifetime reserve days that may never be used again)

You pay all costs for each day after you use all the lifetime reserve days

Inpatient care in a skilled nursing facility (not custodial or long-term care

You pay: nothing for the first 20 days of each benefit period then a coinsurance amount per day for days 21-100 of each benefit period. You pay all costs for each day after day 100 in a benefit period

Hospice Care

To qualify for hospice care, a hospice doctor and you doctor must certify that you’re terminally ill, meaning you have a life expectancy of 6 months or less. When you agree to hospice care, you’re agreeing to palliative care (comfort care) rather than care to cure your illness. You must also sign a statement choosing hospice care instead of other Medicare -covered treatments for you terminal illness and related conditions.

Home Health Care

Medicare covers medically necessary part time or intermittent skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech language, or continued occupational therapy services. A doctor, or certain health care professionals , must see you face to face before a doctor can certify that you need home health services. A doctor must order your care, and a Medicare -certified home health agency must provide it.