PARA Weekly eJournal: October 13, 2021
MEDICARE LIFETIME RESERVE DAYS
What are M edicare Lifetime Reserve Days? Medicare Part A covers eligible inpatient costs for a hospital admission that lasts between one and ninety (90) days. Medicare provides additional coverage for hospital stays that go beyond ninety days. This extra coverage is known as lifetime reserve days. Medicare beneficiaries receive sixty lifetime reserve days that begin on day ninety-one (91) of hospitalization. Each beneficiary has a lifetime reserve of 60 days of inpatient hospital services to draw upon after having used 90 days of inpatient hospital services in a benefit period. The lifetime reserve days are available to beneficiaries that have Part A, but co-payments still apply. For CY2021, Medicare Part A has the following co-payments: - Day one to day sixty: $0.00 co-payment - Day sixty-one (61) to ninety (90): $371.00 per day co-payment - Day ninety-one (91) and beyond: $742.00 per day co-payment when using lifetime reserve days - After lifetime reserve days are exhausted, the Medicare Beneficiary is financially responsible to pay all costs Exclusions to lifetime reserve days: This benefit does not apply to stays at Skilled Nursing Facilities or stays at Psychiatric Hospitals. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2021-medicare-parts-b-premiums-and-deductibles
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