When Will Medicare Cover
Nursing Home Care?
Medicare will cover admission
to a nursing home only where the following conditions are met:
1. You have been in
the hospital for 3 days (not counting the day you get out);
2. You are admitted
to the nursing home within 30 days of when you get out of the hospital;
- You are in a Medicare
certified bed at the nursing home;
- You are receiving
skilled nursing home care on a daily basis ( for example, you
need injections, feeding tubes and physical, occupational or speech
therapy)
What parts of my Nursing
Home Stay will Medicare cover?
If you meet all of the
above criteria, Medicare will cover the full cost of your stay for
the first 20 days, as long as you still need skilled care. Beginning
on the 21st day and continuing until the 100th
day, you will be required to pay $95.00 each day toward the cost and
Medicare will pay the rest.
What if I am in the
Nursing Home longer than 100 days?
If you need nursing home
care longer than 100 days, Medicare will not pay. You will be responsible
for the full cost of the care. Because of the strict rules, Medicare
pays for only about 6% of nursing home costs in the United States.
Medicaid covers more, but it, too, has strict requirements.
Ellie Crosby is a Managing Attorney for the Georgia Senior Legal
Hotline. Contact information:
Ellie Crosby - Managing
Attorney
Georgia Senior Legal Hotline
2 Peachtree St. 36th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30303
phone: (404) 657-0217
fax: (404) 657-5285
elliecrosby@usa.net
Disclaimer
This site contains general information about Georgia
law and is not intended as legal advice to address any specific situation.
It is being provided as a public service by the Georgia Senior Legal
Hotline. If you have questions about this information, you should
discuss your questions with a lawyer. In Georgia, if you are over
60 you may call the Georgia Senior Legal Hotline (888) 257-9519 to
speak with an attorney at no charge about your question or problem.
Be aware that laws differ from state to state and that laws and regulations
can change through court decisions, the administrative process and
through the legislative process. This information is current as of
February 2000.
