Quick answer: Medicare Part A is hospital insurance. It generally covers inpatient hospital care, qualifying skilled nursing facility care, hospice, and certain home health services. It does not cover every hospital-related expense, routine outpatient care, most prescription drugs taken at home, or long-term custodial care. Coverage depends on Medicare’s rules and whether a service is medically necessary.

Inpatient hospital care

Part A helps cover care after you are formally admitted as an inpatient. Covered services can include a semiprivate room, meals, general nursing, drugs used during the inpatient stay, and other medically necessary hospital services and supplies.

Observation status is not the same as inpatient admission. A person can spend a night in a hospital while classified as an outpatient, with services generally billed under Part B. Ask the hospital whether you have been admitted as an inpatient and review the Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice when applicable.

Skilled nursing facility care

Part A may cover short-term skilled nursing facility care when Medicare’s conditions are met. Under Original Medicare, this generally includes a qualifying inpatient hospital stay, a timely transfer, a need for daily skilled care, and use of a Medicare-certified facility. Observation time usually does not count toward the inpatient-stay requirement.

Skilled care can include services such as rehabilitation, wound care, or skilled nursing. Part A does not cover a nursing-home stay when a person only needs custodial help with activities such as bathing, dressing, or eating.

Hospice care

Part A covers hospice for an eligible person who chooses comfort-focused care for a terminal illness and meets Medicare’s certification requirements. Hospice can include symptom management, medications related to the terminal condition, equipment, counseling, respite care, and other covered services.

The hospice benefit has specific election and care-plan rules. Ask the hospice provider and Medicare how services unrelated to the terminal condition will be covered.

Home health services

Medicare can cover certain part-time or intermittent skilled home health services when eligibility requirements are met and a Medicare-certified agency provides the care. Part A and Part B can both be involved depending on the circumstances.

Medicare does not generally cover 24-hour home care, meal delivery, homemaker services unrelated to covered care, or personal care when that is the only service needed.

2026 Part A costs

Most Medicare beneficiaries do not pay a monthly Part A premium because they or a spouse have enough Medicare-covered work history. People without enough qualifying quarters may be able to purchase Part A.

CMS lists these 2026 Original Medicare Part A amounts:

  • Inpatient hospital deductible: $1,736 per benefit period.
  • Hospital coinsurance, days 61–90: $434 per day.
  • Lifetime reserve days: $868 per day.
  • Skilled nursing facility coinsurance, days 21–100: $217 per day.
  • Reduced Part A premium: $311 per month for certain people with at least 30 quarters of coverage.
  • Full Part A premium: $565 per month for certain people with fewer than 30 quarters.

These figures apply to 2026 and can change annually. A benefit period is not the same as a calendar year, so more than one hospital deductible can apply in a year. Medicare Advantage plans can use different cost-sharing structures while covering at least the Medicare-required services.

What Part A usually does not cover

  • Routine doctor visits and outpatient services, generally handled by Part B.
  • Most outpatient prescription drugs, generally handled by Part D or other drug coverage.
  • Long-term custodial nursing-home or assisted-living care.
  • Private-duty nursing or a private room unless medically necessary.
  • Personal items and services that Medicare excludes.

Original Medicare does not have one annual maximum for all Part A and Part B out-of-pocket spending. Some people use a Medicare Supplement policy to help with eligible cost-sharing, while others enroll in Medicare Advantage. Those options have different premiums, networks, and rules.

How to confirm coverage before care

  1. Ask whether the service is inpatient or outpatient.
  2. Confirm that the hospital, facility, hospice, or home health agency participates in Medicare.
  3. Ask the provider which Medicare coverage requirements apply.
  4. Review the current Medicare & You handbook and official coverage page.
  5. Call 1-800-MEDICARE for a case-specific coverage question.

How our agency can help

The Jordan Insurance Agency can explain how Part A fits with Part B, Part D, Medicare Supplement, and Medicare Advantage options the agency offers. We cannot determine whether Medicare will approve a specific service or claim. Use Medicare.gov, the provider, and the plan’s official documents for those decisions.

For coverage-option help, visit our Medicare service page.

Official sources

Reviewed for clarity and Medicare insurance context: Billy Jordan Jr., President, The Jordan Insurance Agency. Meet our team. Last reviewed July 21, 2026.

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