| Medicare does not cover custodial care. Custodial care
is care that helps you with usual daily activities like walking, eating, bathing,
dressing, toileting, transferring. Medicare does pay for short term skilled
nursing care up to 100 days, but only after at least 3 days immediately prior
to entering a nursing facility. Skilled nursing care is not the same as long term
care. Skilled care is health care given when you need skilled nursing or rehabilitation
staff to manage, observe, and evaluate your care. Examples of skilled care include
changing sterile dressing and physical therapy. It is given in a SNF (Skilled
Nursing Facility). Care that can be given by non-professional staff is not considered
skilled care. How much is covered by Medicare?
| For Days | Medicare
Pays for covered Services | You Pay
for covered Services | | 1
- 20 | Full Cost | Nothing |
| 21 - 100 | All
but a Daily Co-payment* | A
Daily Co-payment* | | Beyond
100 | Nothing | Full
Cost | * Note: The co-payment is up
to $105.00 per day in the year 2003. This can change each year. Medicare
Publications: Medicare
Coverage of Skilled Nursing Facility Care.
Medicare & You 2003
Summary of Medicare benefits, rights and obligations, and answers to the most
frequently asked questions about Medicare. (88 pages)
View Adobe PDF (size: 550 KB)
Revised 10/1/2002
Convert Adobe PDF to HTML | 
