Jack's Blog on Medicare Plan Choices

Let’s look deeper into the Part A deductible

Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing facility care, hospice care, and some home health care services. The deductible for Medicare Part A is the amount you pay for your healthcare services before Medicare begins to pay.

Here’s how the Medicare Part A deductible works in 2024:

 Hospital Stays:

1. Deductible:

• For each benefit period, there is a deductible of $1,632. This amount must be paid before Medicare starts to cover your hospital costs.

2. Benefit Period:

• A benefit period begins the day you are admitted as an inpatient to a hospital or skilled nursing facility and ends when you have not received any inpatient care (or skilled care in a SNF) for 60 days in a row.
• If you are admitted to the hospital again after one benefit period has ended, a new benefit period begins, and you must pay the Part A deductible again.

 Hospital Coinsurance:

• Days 1-60: $0 coinsurance for each benefit period after the deductible is met.
• Days 61-90: $400 coinsurance per day.
• Days 91 and beyond: $800 coinsurance per each “lifetime reserve day” after day 90 for each benefit period (up to 60 days over your lifetime).

 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Care:

• Days 1-20: $0 for each benefit period.
• Days 21-100: $200 coinsurance per day.
• Days 101 and beyond: All costs are borne by you.

 Other Considerations:

• Home Health Care: No deductible for home health care services. You pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for durable medical equipment.
• Hospice Care: No deductible for hospice care, but you might need to pay a copayment of up to $5 for each prescription for pain relief and symptom management, and 5% of the Medicare-approved amount for inpatient respite care.

The deductible and coinsurance amounts can change yearly, so it’s important to stay updated on these amounts.

Before choosing an Advantage or Supplement plan, ensure you have a thorough understanding of Medicare itself. When it’s time to explore your options, don’t fall for a sales pitch from a single company or an agent representing only one provider.

At “More Plans More Choices,” I can provide you with side-by-side comparisons from various insurance carriers. More carriers plus more plans equals more choices.

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Here is my disclaimer.  I gather most of my information from Medicare.gov and to the best of my knowledge, it is accurate.  Please use this information as a guideline and double check it yourself as I am only an average man at my best.