Medicare Plan A Coverage

Medicare Part A — Your Hospital Coverage
 
When you apply to Medicare, you are automatically enrolled in the Part A plan. Part A is your hospital insurance plan. It covers nursing care and hospital stays, although not doctors’ fees. Part A also covers some home health services, skilled nursing care after a hospital stay and hospice care.

You likely won’t have to pay a monthly premium for Medicare Part A, thanks in part to all the payroll taxes you paid while you were employed. You must, however, pay a yearly deductible before Medicare will cover any hospitalization costs.

 Part A pays about 80 percent of your Medicare-approved, inpatient costs for the first 60 days you are hospitalized. If you have a longer hospital stay, you will have to pay a larger share of the costs. (That’s where it helps to have supplemental insurance.)

If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and have not worked long enough to qualify for Medicare, and can't qualify through a spouse, you may be able to buy Part A coverage.


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