How many days of skilled nursing does Medicare cover?

Updated October 6, 2026 · General information, not professional advice

How many days of skilled nursing does Medicare cover?

Original Medicare Part A covers up to 100 days in a Medicare-certified skilled nursing facility (SNF) in each benefit period. The 100 days are a maximum, not a promise. Coverage continues only as long as your parent needs and receives daily skilled nursing or therapy, and many stays end sooner.

Skilled nursing facility care is short-term care after a hospital stay. It is different from living in a nursing home long term, which Medicare does not cover. Many nursing homes offer both, in different units.

What your parent pays in 2026

• Days 1 to 20: $0.
• Days 21 to 100: $217 per day coinsurance.
• Day 101 and after: all costs.

For example, a 45-day stay would mean 25 days at $217, or $5,425 in coinsurance, unless other coverage pays. Many Medigap plans (C, D, F, G, M and N) cover the full SNF coinsurance; Plans K and L cover part. Medicare Advantage plans set their own daily copays and may start charging earlier than day 21.

Plan ahead for the day-21 change. If your parent has no Medigap policy, ask the facility's business office for an estimate of what you will owe from day 21 on, and how billing works. Some families with tight budgets ask the team whether finishing rehab with home health or outpatient therapy is safe and appropriate.

Who qualifies for Medicare skilled nursing

• A medically necessary inpatient hospital stay of at least 3 days in a row (observation days don't count).
• Entering the SNF generally within 30 days of leaving the hospital.
• A doctor certifying that your parent needs daily skilled care, such as physical therapy or IV medications, for a condition treated in the hospital or that started during the SNF stay.

Medicare covers skilled care needed to maintain your parent's condition or slow decline, not only care that leads to improvement. A facility should not end coverage just because your parent has "plateaued" if they still need skilled services.

Examples of daily skilled care include physical or occupational therapy five or more days a week, IV medications, wound care that requires a nurse, or new tube feedings. Help with bathing, dressing and eating alone, without a skilled need, is custodial care and is not covered.

How the benefit period resets

A benefit period starts the day your parent is admitted as an inpatient and ends when they have gone 60 days in a row without inpatient hospital or SNF care. After that, a new hospital stay of 3 or more inpatient days starts a new benefit period, with a fresh 100 SNF days and a new Part A deductible ($1,736 in 2026). There is no limit on the number of benefit periods.

When coverage ends early

The SNF must give your parent a written Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage, generally at least two days before covered services end. If you disagree, call the BFCC-QIO number on the notice by the deadline to request a fast appeal. An independent reviewer decides.

Before discharge, plan what comes next: home health care, outpatient therapy, home care, assisted living, or long-term nursing home care. seniorcare.si can show licensed skilled nursing facilities and home care agencies near your ZIP code.

Ask for therapy notes and progress reports during the stay so you can see whether goals are being met.

What happens after 100 days

If your parent still needs nursing home care after Medicare coverage ends, it becomes long-term custodial care that Medicare doesn't pay for. Options include private pay, long-term care insurance, VA benefits for eligible veterans, or Medicaid if your parent meets their state's income and asset rules. Ask the facility's business office about applying for Medicaid early, because applications can take time.