Medicare.gov

Long-term care hospital services

Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) covers care in a long-term care hospital.

Your costs in Original Medicare

You pay this for each benefit period :

  • Days 1-60: $0 after you meet your Part A deductible ($1,676).
  • Days 61-90: $419 each day.
  • Days 91 and beyond: $838 each day for each lifetime reserve day (up to a maximum of 60 reserve days over your lifetime).
  • Each day after you use all of your lifetime reserve days: You pay all costs.

You don’t have to pay a deductible for care you get in the long-term care hospital if you were already charged a deductible for care you got in a prior hospitalization within the same benefit period. This is because your benefit period starts on day one of your prior hospital stay, and that stay counts towards your deductible. For example, you won’t have to pay a deductible for your long-term care hospital care if:

  • You’re transferred to a long-term hospital directly from an acute care hospital.
  • You’re admitted to a long-term care hospital within 60 days of being discharged from a hospital.

What it is

Long-term care hospitals typically provide care to patients with more than one serious medical condition. The patients may improve with time and care, and eventually return home. Long-term care hospitals may offer services like: 

  • Respiratory therapy
  • Head trauma treatment
  • Pain management

Things to know

After being discharged from the long-term care hospital, many people get one of these:

Related resources

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