Part A helps cover the following:
- Inpatient care in hospitals (such as critical access hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and long-term care hospitals)
- Inpatient care in a skilled nursing facility (not custodial or long term care)
- Hospice care services
- Home health care services
- Inpatient care in a Religious Nonmedical Health Care Institution (Medicare will only cover the non-medical, non-religious health care items and services in this type of facility for people who qualify for hospital or skilled nursing facility care but for whom medical care isn’t in agreement with their religious beliefs.)
You usually don’t pay a monthly premium for Part A coverage if you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes while working. If you aren’t eligible for premium-free Part A, you may be able to buy Part A if you meet one of the following conditions:
- You are age 65 or older, and you are entitled to (or enrolling in) Part B and meet the citizenship or residency requirements.
- You are under age 65, disabled, and your premium-free Part A coverage ended because you returned to work.