Nursing Home Coverage Medicare

Nursing home coverage Medicare does not pay for a stay in a nursing home. Medicaid does pay for most nursing home care, but there are strict asset and income limitations. Many people don’t qualify for Medicaid coverage because they have too much income or too many assets. If your doctor recommends a nursing home stay for observation or therapy after a hospitalization, such as physical therapy for an injury, you will be responsible for payment of the nursing home stay.

Medicare does not pay for a stay in a nursing home. Medicaid does pay for most nursing home care, but there are strict asset and income limitations. Many people don’t qualify for Medicaid coverage because they have too much income or too many assets.

If you’re in a nursing home, Medicare will not pay for your stay. Medicaid does pay for most nursing home care, but there are strict asset and income limitations. Many people don’t qualify for Medicaid coverage because they have too much income or too many assets. If you think that your loved one may qualify for Medicaid coverage of long-term care costs over the $2,000 threshold limit, ask your elder law attorney about getting an advance payment of benefits from Social Security before he or she enters the nursing home.

Medicare will help pay only if you have skilled needs (e.g., help with an IV, catheter, wound care etc.) and the skilled care is reasonable and needed on a daily basis. This benefit is called the Skilled Nursing Facility Benefit (often referred to as SNF or Part A Medicare). If there is no skilled need, then Medicare will not pay.

Medicare will help pay only if you have skilled needs (e.g., help with an IV, catheter, wound care etc.) and the skilled care is reasonable and needed on a daily basis. This benefit is called the Skilled Nursing Facility Benefit (often referred to as SNF or Part A Medicare). If there is no skilled need, then Medicare will not pay.

Skilled nursing care is defined as skilled care that requires a registered nurse; or

the patient must be able to benefit from medical intervention (specialized therapy) in order to achieve maximum improvement; or

there are two chronic conditions that require specialized services/treatments to maintain optimum health including at least one of the following: Cardiac Care Respiratory Care Dialysis Ostomy Rehabilitation Wound Management Continence Care Pain Management Palliative Care

If your doctor recommends a nursing home stay for observation or therapy after a hospitalization, such as physical therapy for an injury, you will be responsible for payment of the nursing home stay.

If your doctor recommends a nursing home stay for observation or therapy after a hospitalization, such as physical therapy for an injury, you will be responsible for payment of the nursing home stay. Medicare will not pay for a nursing home stay. However, Medicaid may pay for a short period of time in a skilled facility (not just any care) after all other insurance has been used up and it is determined that you are no longer able to take care of yourself at home.

Medicare only pays skilled nursing care when medically necessary because of the following:

• Receiving skilled medical treatment (e.g., wound care)
• Having ventilator use
• Having IV antibiotics administered

For example, if your mother has broken her hip and needs physical therapy to help her walk again, she will likely be sent to a nursing home to receive that therapy before returning home. In that situation, Part A will cover only very specific types of rehabilitation (such as IV administration) but it would not cover any time spent at the nursing home in general even though the overall purpose was rehabilitation after a hospitalization.

For example, if your mother has broken her hip and needs physical therapy to help her walk again, she will likely be sent to a nursing home to receive that therapy before returning home. In that situation, Part A will cover only very specific types of rehabilitation (such as IV administration) but it would not cover any time spent at the nursing home in general even though the overall purpose was rehabilitation after a hospitalization.

If you are considering purchasing coverage for a loved one who is in need of nursing home care, it is important that you understand how Medicare works with these facilities.

You can’t count on Medicare to cover the cost of long-term care in a nursing facility or at home, or to help with other non-medical expenses such as adult daycare programs.

Medicare does not cover long-term care in nursing facilities or at home.

Medicare will cover only short-term nursing facility stays—generally up to 100 days, depending on your condition and other circumstances. After that, you may need another insurance policy to pay for additional care. But many people do not have a secondary insurance policy available to them, so they must rely solely on Medicare coverage when they need extended services outside of the short term.

Another important point is that Medicare does not help with non-medical expenses such as adult daycare programs.

If you have a loved one who needs to go into a nursing home, you should consider whether this is right for them and take steps to plan ahead. Talk with your family about what they can do to help cover the cost of long-term care. If you don’t have enough money or assets, there are options such as Medicaid that might be able to assist with some costs (in most states) but it’s important that everyone understands their financial situation before making any decisions.