Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) Costs

Part A of Medicare, also known as Hospital Insurance, helps cover inpatient care in hospitals, skilled nursing facility care, hospice care, and some home health care. Here are the details of what Part A covers and the associated costs:

Medicare Part A Coverage:

1. Inpatient Hospital Care:
   • Semi-private room, meals, general nursing, drugs as part of your inpatient treatment, and other hospital services and supplies.
   • This includes inpatient care you get in acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and long-term care hospitals.
   • It also covers inpatient care as part of a qualifying clinical research study and inpatient mental health care in a psychiatric hospital (up to 190 days in a lifetime).
2. Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Care:
   • Medicare Part A covers semi-private room, meals, skilled nursing and rehabilitative services, and other medically necessary services and supplies.
3. Hospice Care:
   • For people with a terminal illness, this includes drugs for symptom control and pain relief, medical and support services from a Medicare-approved hospice, grief counseling, and other services.
4. Home Health Care:
   • Part-time or intermittent skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, continued occupational services, and more.

Medicare Part A Costs

Medicare Part A is often premium-free if you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes while working. However, there are other costs associated with the services:

1. Premium:
   • $0: If you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years.
   • $278/month (2024 rate): If you paid Medicare taxes for 30-39 quarters.
   • $505/month (2024 rate): If you paid Medicare taxes for fewer than 30 quarters.
2. Deductible and Coinsurance:
   • Inpatient Hospital Stay:
     • $1,632 deductible (2024 rate) for each benefit period.
     • Days 1-60: $0 coinsurance per day.
     • Days 61-90: $408 coinsurance per day.
     • Days 91 and beyond: $816 coinsurance per each “lifetime reserve day” after day 90 for each benefit period (up to 60 days over your lifetime).
     • Beyond lifetime reserve days: All costs.
   • Skilled Nursing Facility Stay:
     • Days 1-20: $0 coinsurance per benefit period.
     • Days 21-100: $204 coinsurance per day.
     • Days 101 and beyond: All costs.
   • Hospice Care:
     • Usually no cost, but you may need to pay a copayment of up to $5 for each prescription drug for pain relief and symptom control, and 5% of the Medicare-approved amount for inpatient respite care.
   • Home Health Care:
     • $0 for covered home health care services.
     • 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for durable medical equipment (DME).

These costs are subject to change annually, so it’s important to check for the most current rates.