Does My Loved One Get 100 Days of Rehab?
We’ve already talked a bit about rehab, but in case you need a refresher, we’ll go ahead and take a quick look at it to start.
As you may know, rehab (also called rehabilitation) is a treatment program to help you recover from an illness or an injury. It also helps you to relearn the skills you need in your everyday life. With the help of rehabilitation programs, you may learn new ways to:
- Eat, cook, dress, or bathe
- Exercise to improve both your strength and balance
- Improve your abilities to remember things or solve problems
- Listen, read, speak, and write
There are a variety of reasons that rehabilitation programs may be required. We already said that it can help to recover from illness or injury, but more specifically, rehab may come in handy if you have had or currently have:
- A stroke or some other form of paralysis
- An injury that makes it more difficult to do everyday tasks
- Surgery
- A vision problem, such as blindness
Medicare
As you know, Medicare is a federal government program that gives healthcare coverage to those people who are aged 65 and above. It also gives coverage to those people who have certain disabilities, regardless of their age. There are 2 main parts to the Medicare program: Part A and Part B. Each part helps to cover different services, but both pay some of the costs needed for medical services. The rules about what Medicare does or does not cover can be confusing, since they also change periodically. If you have any questions about Medicare, be sure to stop by your local Social Security office or check out are articles on the topic.
Medicare and Rehab
You should know that Medicare Part A covers the care you receive in a hospital rehabilitation unit, and they may also pay for rehab in a skilled nursing facility in some instances.
After you have been in the hospital for at least three days, Medicare will pay for your inpatient rehabilitation for up to 100 days in a benefit period. This period begins when you go into the hospital, and ends when you have not gotten any hospital care or skilled nursing care for 60 days.
For the first 20 days, Medicare will pay for your rehabilitation at 100%. For the next 80 days, you are required to pay a daily co-payment. Medicare does not pay anything for rehab after 100 days.
If you go into the hospital for at least three days after one period ends, a new one will begin, and you may have as many benefit periods as you need. If you have any questions, or for more information, you can reach Medicare toll-free at 1-800-638-6833.
