(Newswire.net — October 28, 2019) — What is a Medicare benefit period? This is a common question among people who want to know how long will Medicare pay for hospital pay and are unfamiliar with the Medicare SNF benefit period that your insurance can provide to you when you walk out from the hospital. Although the benefit period medical definition is rather ample and complex, it basically refers to the time period where you can still receive benefits after, let’s say, a Medicare hospital stay of three days, and not pay anything else if you need to go back to the hospital. It’s complex because of the factors behind it, but the definition itself is not difficult.
What is a Medicare Benefit Period?
This article will explain a bit more what is a Medicare benefit period and how does it work after you sign up. If you’re currently enrolled in one of Medicare’s programs, this is something you might want to know – you’ll understand how long can you continue enjoying your insurance benefits after you’ve walked out of the hospital!
What is a Medicare Benefit Period?
Simply put, it’s the time period during which your insurance benefit will be paid by Medicare, both inpatient and outpatient services. It begins the day you enter a hospital or SNF, and ends when you stop receiving inpatient / Medicare-covered services for 20 / 60 days in a row. Once the benefit period is over, a new one begins.
How Does it Work?
Let’s imagine you have a Medicare hospital stay for 3 days for whatever reason, beginning on May 1 and checking out in May 4. If you have to go back on May 30 (26 days out of the hospital), you are still in the same Medicare benefit period because you didn’t spend more than 60 days out of the hospital and won’t have to pay another hospital or coinsurance deductible. Everything will be covered by Medicare once again!
What Are Some Deductibles?
It depends on the length of your inpatient hospital / SNF stay during one benefit period.
The first thing you have to do is to meet your Part A deductible at the beginning of the benefit period. Once you do, the first 60 days of your hospital will be covered. Likewise, if you qualify for a Medicare-covered SNF stay, you will pay nothing for the first 20 days.
So far, the Medicare Part A costs are the following:
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$1,288 for each benefit period.
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You won’t be charged any hospital coinsurance for the first 60 days in each benefit period; only then, and until day 90, you’ll be charged $322 daily.
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Similarly, you won’t be charged for any skilled nursing facility coinsurance the first 20 days of inpatient care; only from day 21 to 100, you’ll be charged $161 daily.
Additional Questions
What is a benefit period in Medicare Part A?
To sum it up, a 60-day period in which you’ve been first admitted to a hospital or SNF as an inpatient. After you meet your deductible, Medicare will pay in full for this 60-day period you spend in the hospital.
How many days can you be in the hospital with Medicare?
Medicare covers up to 90 days in a hospital, with an additional 60 days of coverage of high coinsurance. However, these 60 reserve days are only available once during your lifetime.
Bottom Line
So, what’s the benefit period medical definition? It’s basically the privilege of no-additional-costs during your hospital or SNF stay, at least for a brief period of time. How long will Medicare pay for hospital stay for SNF care, however? Most of the time, hospital and Medicare SNF benefit period lasts up from 20 to 60 or 90 days, depending on the facility you’re checked in (for example, a Medicare hospital stay for 3 days will let you enjoy paid benefits for another 57 days, when the benefit period officially ends). For further information on what is a Medicare benefit period and how can you benefit from it along with different age requirements and coverages it offers, we recommend you to call your local social security center or Medicare specialists that offer supplemental plans.