Long-term care hospital services
Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) covers care in a long-term hospital
Description
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
After being discharged from the long-term care hospital, many people get one of these:
- Care in a skilled nursing facility
- Custodial care in a long-term care facility
Costs
You pay this for each benefit period :
- Days 1-60: $0 after you meet your Part A deductible $1,676 ($1,736 in 2026).
- Days 61-90: $419 each day ($434 in 2026).
- Days 91 and beyond: $838 each day ($868 in 2026) for each lifetime reserve day (up to a maximum of 60 reserve days over your lifetime).
- Each day after you use all your lifetime reserve days: You pay all costs.
How often
Original Medicare measures your use of hospital and skilled nursing facility (SNF) services in benefit periods. A benefit period begins the day you’re admitted as an inpatient in a hospital or SNF. The benefit period ends when you haven’t received any inpatient hospital care (or skilled care in a SNF) for 60 days in a row.
If you go into a hospital or SNF after one benefit period has ended, a new one begins. You must pay the inpatient hospital deductible for each benefit period. There’s no limit to the number of benefit periods you can have.