Medicare Part A covers the following services:
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Inpatient hospital care:Â This is care received after you are formally admitted into a hospital by a physician. A general hospital stay of up to 90 days throughout each benefit period is covered, in addition to 60 lifetime reserve days. Medicare also includes up to 190 lifetime days in a Medicare-certified psychiatric hospital.
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Skilled nursing facility (SNF) care:Â Medicare pays for lodging, food, and services offered in a skilled nursing facility, such as medication management, tube feedings, and wound care. If you are eligible for coverage, you are protected for up to 100 days throughout each benefit period. To be eligible, you must require skilled nursing or therapy services and have at least three consecutive days as a hospital inpatient within 30 days of admission to the SNF.
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Home health care:Â Medicare will pay for those services if you are confined to your home and require skilled care. Your insurance covers up to 100 days of daily care or an infinite number of intermittent care sessions. You must have been a hospital inpatient for at least three consecutive days within 14 days of obtaining home health care to be eligible for Part A payment. (Note: If you don't fit the criteria for Part A coverage, you can still receive home health care under Medicare Part B.)
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Hospice care:Â This is the care you may elect to receive if a provider determines you are terminally ill. You are covered as long as your provider verifies that you require care.