What Is Medicare Part A?
Medicare Part A is the hospital insurance portion of Medicare. It helps cover inpatient hospital care, including inpatient psychiatric care, skilled nursing facility care, hospice care, and some home health care. Most people pay no monthly Part A premium because they or a spouse paid Medicare taxes long enough while working, generally at least 10 years.
What Does Medicare Part A Cover?
Medicare Part A primarily helps pay for medically necessary inpatient and facility-based care. Part A helps cover:
- Inpatient care in hospitals
- Skilled nursing facility care when Medicare's coverage requirements are met
- Hospice care
- Some home health care
Inpatient Hospital Care
When you are formally admitted to a Medicare-participating hospital as an inpatient, Part A can help cover services such as a semi-private room, meals, general nursing, certain drugs, and other hospital services and supplies.
Skilled Nursing Facility Care
Part A can help cover short-term skilled nursing facility care when Medicare's eligibility and coverage rules are satisfied. It is not the same as unlimited long-term custodial nursing home care.
Hospice and Home Health Care
Part A also helps cover qualifying hospice services and certain home health services. Coverage depends on Medicare's eligibility and medical-necessity requirements.
How Much Does Medicare Part A Cost in 2026?
Most Medicare beneficiaries do not pay a monthly Part A premium. However, Part A still has deductibles and coinsurance when you receive covered care.
If you do not qualify for premium-free Part A, the 2026 monthly premium is $311 or $565, depending on how long you or your spouse worked and paid Medicare taxes.
How Does the Medicare Part A Hospital Deductible Work?
The Part A hospital deductible is based on a benefit period. That is different from a conventional annual deductible. This means a person can potentially owe the Part A deductible more than once in the same calendar year if separate benefit periods occur.
2026 Inpatient Hospital Cost Sharing
- Days 1 to 60: $0 daily coinsurance after the $1,736 Part A deductible
- Days 61 to 90: $434 per day
- Days 91 to 150: $868 per day while using lifetime reserve days
- After day 150: You pay all costs
What Does Medicare Part A Not Cover?
Part A should not be thought of as complete health insurance by itself. Routine physician services and outpatient medical care generally fall under Medicare Part B rather than Part A.
Medicare also does not generally cover long-term custodial care simply because a person needs help with daily activities. Coverage rules vary by service, so the specific Medicare coverage requirements should always be checked.
How Part A Fits With Other Medicare Coverage
For a broader explanation of how Part A and Part B work together, see our Medicare 101 overview. You can also learn how Medicare Advantage works or compare common Medicare Supplement options.
From First Meeting to Medicare Enrollment
We begin by helping you understand how Medicare works and how the different pieces fit together. We walk through Original Medicare, Parts A and B, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement insurance, and Part D prescription drug coverage, including how formularies, drug tiers, and plan rules can affect your costs.
We also explain dental, vision, and hearing coverage, along with other products that may help fill gaps in your healthcare plan. Depending on your needs, that may include short-term in-home healthcare coverage, hospital indemnity insurance, or coverage designed to provide additional financial support following a cancer diagnosis, heart attack, or stroke.
Once you understand the landscape, we move into the planning stage. That is when we review your doctors, hospitals, prescription drugs, current coverage, and other personal details so we can begin evaluating the Medicare plan options that fit your situation.
Official Sources
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Medicare.gov: Parts of Medicare
Official overview of what Medicare Part A and Part B cover. -
Medicare.gov: What Does Medicare Cost?
Official 2026 Part A premium, deductible, and hospital coinsurance amounts. -
Medicare.gov: Inpatient Hospital Care
Coverage requirements and inpatient hospital cost sharing. -
CMS: 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles
CMS fact sheet confirming 2026 Part A premiums, deductible, and coinsurance amounts.
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