Medicare Part A in Minnesota: Hospital Coverage Explained

Medicare Part A – Hospital Coverage

Medicare Part A is the part of Medicare that primarily helps cover inpatient hospital care. It can also cover qualifying skilled nursing facility care, hospice care and certain home health services.

For Minnesota residents, the important thing to understand is that Medicare Part A is a federal Medicare benefit. The basic Part A coverage rules, deductible and coinsurance amounts are not different simply because you live in Minnesota.

This guide explains what Medicare Part A covers, what it costs in 2026 and some of the rules that can make Part A confusing.

Learn First. Decide With Confidence.

Medicare Part A

What Does Medicare Part A Cover?

Medicare Part A is commonly called Hospital Insurance.

It generally helps cover:

  • Inpatient hospital care
  • Skilled nursing facility care when Medicare requirements are met
  • Hospice care
  • Certain home health services
  • Inpatient rehabilitation care
  • Certain inpatient mental health care

Part A does not necessarily pay 100% of the cost of these services. Deductibles, coinsurance and coverage limitations can apply.

Medicare Part A and Inpatient Hospital Care

Part A generally covers medically necessary hospital care when you are formally admitted to a Medicare-participating hospital as an inpatient under a doctor’s order.

Covered inpatient hospital services can include:

  • Semi-private room
  • Meals
  • General nursing
  • Certain medications received as part of inpatient treatment
  • Hospital services and supplies

One important point is that being physically in a hospital does not necessarily mean you are an inpatient.

You may instead be receiving outpatient observation services.

Your inpatient or outpatient status can affect what Medicare covers and can also affect whether a hospital stay qualifies you for subsequent skilled nursing facility coverage.

If you are unsure about your status, ask the hospital whether you have been formally admitted as an inpatient.

How Much Does Medicare Part A Cost in 2026?

Part A Premium

Most Medicare beneficiaries pay $0 per month for Medicare Part A.

This is commonly called premium-free Part A.

Most people qualify because they or their spouse worked and paid Medicare taxes long enough—generally at least 10 years.

Some people who don’t have enough qualifying work history can purchase Part A.

For 2026, the Part A premium for people who must purchase it is either:

  • $311 per month, or
  • $565 per month

depending on qualifying work history.

These amounts can change each year.

The 2026 Medicare Part A Hospital Deductible

For 2026, the Original Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible is:

$1,736 per benefit period

This is an important distinction:

The Part A deductible is not an annual deductible.

It applies to a Medicare benefit period.

Because you can have more than one benefit period in the same calendar year, it is possible to owe the Part A deductible more than once during a year.

What Is a Medicare Part A Benefit Period?

A benefit period is the way Original Medicare measures your use of inpatient hospital and skilled nursing facility services.

A benefit period begins when you are admitted as an inpatient to a hospital or skilled nursing facility.

It generally ends when you have gone 60 consecutive days without receiving inpatient hospital care or qualifying skilled nursing facility care.

If you are admitted again after a benefit period has ended, a new benefit period begins.

That can mean another Part A deductible.

There is no limit to the number of benefit periods you can have.

2026 Hospital Costs Under Original Medicare

For each Medicare Part A benefit period in 2026:

Days 1–60

You pay the $1,736 Part A deductible.

After the deductible, there is generally $0 daily hospital coinsurance for covered inpatient hospital services during days 1–60.

Days 61–90

You pay $434 per day in coinsurance.

Days 91–150

You may use your lifetime reserve days.

The 2026 coinsurance is $868 per lifetime reserve day.

Beyond the applicable covered days

Once your applicable covered hospital days and lifetime reserve days are exhausted, you are responsible for the hospital costs unless you have other coverage that applies.

What Are Medicare Lifetime Reserve Days?

Medicare provides 60 lifetime reserve days.

These are additional inpatient hospital days that can be used after you have been in the hospital for more than 90 days during a benefit period.

The key word is lifetime.

You have 60 of these days for your entire lifetime—not 60 new reserve days every year or every benefit period.

In 2026, the Original Medicare coinsurance for each lifetime reserve day is $868.

Is There a Lifetime Limit on Ordinary Medicare Hospital Admissions?

There is not a simple lifetime cap on the number of ordinary hospital admissions Medicare will cover.

A new Medicare benefit period can begin after the previous benefit period ends, and there is no limit on the number of benefit periods you can have.

However, coverage within an individual benefit period has limits, including the 60 lifetime reserve days available after the first 90 hospital days.

There is also a separate lifetime limit of 190 days of Medicare Part A coverage for inpatient psychiatric care received in a freestanding psychiatric hospital.

That special psychiatric-hospital limit does not apply in the same way to inpatient psychiatric care in a Medicare-certified distinct psychiatric unit of a general hospital.

Does Medicare Part A Cover Skilled Nursing Facility Care?

Yes—but only when Medicare’s requirements are met.

A Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) is not the same thing as long-term custodial nursing-home care.

Under Original Medicare, SNF coverage generally requires:

  • Medicare Part A
  • Days remaining in your benefit period
  • A qualifying inpatient hospital stay
  • A need for daily skilled nursing or skilled therapy
  • Admission to a Medicare-certified SNF
  • Skilled services related to the qualifying condition or a qualifying condition that develops while receiving SNF care

Under the ordinary Original Medicare rule, the qualifying hospital stay generally must include at least three consecutive inpatient days, not counting the day of discharge.

Time spent in the hospital under observation status generally does not count toward this three-day requirement.

There are exceptions. Certain Accountable Care Organizations may have an approved three-day SNF waiver, and Medicare Advantage plans may have different SNF admission rules.

How Many Skilled Nursing Facility Days Does Part A Cover?

When all Medicare requirements are met, Original Medicare can cover up to 100 days of skilled nursing facility care per benefit period.

For 2026:

Days 1–20

$0 daily coinsurance

Days 21–100

$217 per day

Day 101 and beyond

You pay all costs unless other insurance or assistance applies.

Coverage is not based simply on being present in a nursing facility for 100 days.

You must continue meeting Medicare’s requirements for skilled care.

Does Medicare Part A Cover Long-Term Nursing Home Care?

Generally, no.

Medicare does not generally pay for long-term custodial care when that is the only care you need.

Custodial care includes assistance with activities of daily living such as:

  • Bathing
  • Dressing
  • Eating
  • Using the bathroom
  • Getting in and out of bed

Medicare Part A may cover qualifying short-term skilled nursing facility care, but Medicare should not be confused with long-term-care insurance.

Does Medicare Part A Cover Hospice?

Yes.

Medicare Part A covers qualifying hospice care.

To qualify, among other requirements:

  • You must have Medicare Part A.
  • A hospice doctor and your regular doctor, if you have one, must certify that you are terminally ill with a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course.
  • You must choose comfort-oriented hospice care rather than Medicare-covered treatment intended to cure the terminal illness and related conditions.
  • You must sign a hospice election statement.

Hospice coverage does not automatically stop after six months.

Coverage can continue as long as the appropriate hospice physician continues to certify that you meet Medicare’s terminal-illness requirements.

For covered hospice services, Medicare generally charges $0, although limited cost sharing can apply to certain outpatient drugs for pain and symptom management and inpatient respite care.

Does Medicare Part A Cover Home Health Care?

Medicare can cover certain home health services when eligibility requirements are met.

A common misconception is that you must first be hospitalized.

A prior hospital stay is not generally required for Medicare home health coverage.

Medicare home health eligibility generally includes requirements such as:

  • You are considered homebound.
  • You need qualifying part-time or intermittent skilled nursing care or therapy.
  • A health care provider evaluates and certifies the need for home health services.
  • A Medicare-certified home health agency provides the care.

Covered home health services may include:

  • Part-time or intermittent skilled nursing
  • Physical therapy
  • Occupational therapy in qualifying circumstances
  • Speech-language pathology
  • Certain home health aide services when other skilled-care requirements are met
  • Medical social services
  • Certain medical supplies

Medicare does not generally cover 24-hour-a-day care at home or custodial care by itself.

Part A and Medicare Advantage

If you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, you do not give up your Medicare Part A entitlement.

You must generally have both Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B to enroll in Medicare Advantage.

The Medicare Advantage plan then provides your Medicare-covered Part A and Part B benefits according to Medicare requirements and the terms of that plan.

Your Medicare Advantage costs do not necessarily follow the Original Medicare Part A deductible and coinsurance schedule shown on this page.

Medicare Advantage plans can establish their own Medicare-approved copayments, coinsurance and other cost-sharing rules.

Always review the specific plan’s Evidence of Coverage.

Who Qualifies for Medicare Part A?

Most people first become eligible for Medicare around age 65 if they meet Medicare’s citizenship or lawful-residency requirements.

Some people qualify before age 65.

Disability

People receiving qualifying Social Security Disability Insurance or Railroad Retirement Board disability benefits generally receive Medicare automatically after 24 months of disability-benefit entitlement.

ALS

People with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) generally become eligible for Medicare when their qualifying disability benefits begin rather than waiting 24 months.

End-Stage Renal Disease

People with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) may qualify for Medicare at any age when Medicare’s ESRD requirements are met.

ESRD eligibility has its own rules involving permanent kidney failure requiring regular dialysis or a kidney transplant and applicable work or benefit eligibility requirements.

Because ESRD Medicare eligibility and effective dates are different from ordinary age-based Medicare, those circumstances should be evaluated separately.

Is Medicare Part A the Same in Minnesota?

The basic Original Medicare Part A coverage rules and cost-sharing amounts are federal.

In other words, Minnesota does not have its own separate:

  • Part A hospital deductible
  • Part A hospital coinsurance schedule
  • Skilled nursing facility day limit
  • Lifetime reserve-day system

However, Minnesota Medicare Supplement insurance can affect what you ultimately pay for certain Original Medicare Part A costs.

Minnesota has its own standardized Medicare Supplement structure, so Minnesota residents should use Minnesota-specific information when evaluating Medicare Supplement coverage.

Related: [Medigap – Medicare Supplement Insurance in Minnesota]

Does Medicare Supplement Insurance Help With Part A Costs?

Depending on the Minnesota Medicare Supplement policy, supplemental coverage can help pay certain Original Medicare Part A deductibles, coinsurance or other covered cost sharing.

Minnesota Medicare Supplement policies are standardized differently from those sold in most states.

Do not assume that information about national lettered plans such as Plan G describes Minnesota Medicare Supplement coverage.

Review the benefits of the specific Minnesota policy before determining what Part A costs it will pay.

Medicare Part A: Important Numbers for 2026

For Original Medicare in 2026:

Part A cost2026 amount
Premium for most beneficiaries$0
Purchased Part A premium$311 or $565/month
Hospital deductible$1,736 per benefit period
Hospital days 1–60$0/day after deductible
Hospital days 61–90$434/day
Lifetime reserve days$868/day
SNF days 1–20$0/day
SNF days 21–100$217/day
SNF day 101+All costs

These amounts apply to 2026 and can change each year.

What Should Minnesota Medicare Beneficiaries Remember About Part A?

The most important points are:

  • Part A primarily covers inpatient hospital care.
  • Most people pay no monthly Part A premium.
  • The hospital deductible is based on a benefit period, not a calendar year.
  • You can have more than one benefit period in a year.
  • Medicare provides only 60 lifetime reserve hospital days.
  • SNF coverage is limited and requires specific Medicare conditions.
  • Medicare does not generally cover long-term custodial nursing-home care.
  • A hospitalization is not generally required before qualifying for home health care.
  • Hospice coverage can continue beyond six months when Medicare eligibility requirements continue to be met.
  • Medicare Advantage plans can use different cost sharing from Original Medicare.

YourMedicareMN can guide you step-by-step through enrollment and explain all Minnesota-specific rules.

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Visit Contact Us to schedule a personalized Medicare review and get answers tailored to your situation.

For official Medicare information, visit the Medicare.gov website.

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