Inpatient Medicare Benefits

The elderly and disabled enrollees of Medicare sometimes have diseases and injuries that require lengthy hospital stays and treatment. Medicare's inpatient benefits are covered under Part A, which is free of charge for those who qualify. Each treatment, however, may have a coinsurance, but the benefit itself has no monthly premium.

Hospital Care

• Medicare Part A will cover 90 days during each benefit period of hospital care in any hospital, including critical access hospitals and long-term care hospitals. The care received in the hospital must be considered medically necessary. In addition to the 90 days, there are 190 lifetime reserve days that can be used.

Rehabilitative Care

• Those who need care after a qualified hospital stay may qualify for a stay at a skilled nursing facility or an inpatient rehabilitation facility. A doctor must say this care is necessary, and the patient must have been an inpatient in a hospital for at least three days in the past 30 days prior to admission to the rehab.

Home Health Care

• Part A covers up to 100 days of home health care for those who are homebound and have spent three days as an inpatient in the hospital in the past two weeks.

Hospice

• If a patient is deemed terminally ill with a life expectancy less than six months, he or she qualifies for hospice care under the Part A benefit.

Psychiatric Care

• Medicare Part A offers 190 lifetime days to be used toward any Medicare-certified psychiatric hospital.

Supplies

• Any supplies or equipment needed to perform a medically necessary procedure in any of the facilities listed above are covered under Part A.

Social Services

• If a patient requires social services to help cope with his or her medical situation, Medicare Part A covers this service.

Substance Abuse Treatment

• A Medicare-enrollee who requires inpatient alcohol or substance abuse rehabilitation can get coverage through Medicare Part A.