Observation services are short-term outpatient services received when you are in the hospital for monitoring purposes and/or to determine whether you should be admitted as an inpatient. It is important to know that if you are receiving observation services (sometimes referred to as under observation status), you have not been
Inpatient
Hospice costs and coverage
If you qualify for the hospice benefit, Medicare covers the following: Skilled nursing services, which are services performed by or under the supervision of a licensed or certified nurse to treat your injury or illness. Services you may receive include injections (and teaching you to self-inject), tube feedings, catheter changes,
Inpatient mental health care
Medicare Part A covers inpatient mental health services that you receive in either a psychiatric hospital (a hospital that only treats mental health patients) or a general hospital. Your provider should determine which hospital setting you need. If you receive care in a psychiatric hospital, Medicare covers up to 190
Hospital discharge planning
Hospital discharge planning is a process that determines the kind of care you need after you leave the hospital. Discharge plans can help prevent future readmissions, and they should make your move from the hospital to your home or another facility as safe as possible. Medicare requires hospitals to screen
Inpatient rehabilitation hospital care
Rehabilitation hospitals are specialty hospitals or parts of acute care hospitals that offer intensive inpatient rehabilitation therapy. You may need inpatient care in a rehabilitation hospital if you are recovering from a serious illness, surgery, or injury and require a high level of specialized care that generally cannot be provided
The benefit period
Benefit periods measure your use of inpatient hospital and skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. A benefit period begins the day you are admitted to a hospital as an inpatient, or to a SNF, and ends the day you have been out of the hospital or SNF for 60 days in