Medicare offers low-cost health insurance to older Americans and Americans with disabilities. It can cover doctors visits, short hospital stays, and stays in a hospice. While many people assume that Medicare offers long-term coverage options, it usually does not. Medicare uses the concept of benefit periods and lifetime days to determine eligibility. If you run out of days during a benefit period or run out of lifetime days for certain services.
A person who needs treatment for a mental health problem can stay in a psychiatric ward for up to 190 days. There are no lifetime limits on this, although if he or she exceeds the benefit period, he may need to pay for the costs out of pocket or rely on a health plan that extends his medicare coverage. Medicare will cover rehabilitation and short-term care in a skilled nursing facility. If a person in such a facility is expected to get better, he need not worry about his Medicare benefits running out. The government-sponsored health program also covers rehabilitation services. The cost allowed for these services changes each year.
Assisted Living and a long-term stay in a nursing home must be covered by something other than Medicare. A patient who runs out of resources may be eligible for a state Medicaid program if his doctors do not expect him to recover. Medicaid programs are usually administered by the state department that issues food stamps, cash assistance and other welfare programs. An applicant must prove that he or she has limited resources and no other form of health insurance to qualify for the Medicaid program.
Assisted Living Facilities are often paid for out of pocket or through an individual’s social security benefits check. He can also find extra coverage through a long-term care insurance program. If a senior citizen suspects that he might need long-term care, he should buy a policy long before he ends up in a nursing home. The younger he buys a long-term care policy, the lower his premiums will be.
Medicare offers a wide range of short-term care options to senior citizens. If a person becomes disabled or unable to take care of himself, Medicare will pay for his hospital or nursing home stay for a short period of time. When the lifetime days and benefit periods run out, the patient or whoever has power of attorney for him must seek out another source of funding.