The Medicare program helps to pay for health care services furnished to people 65 and over and for persons receiving Social Security disability benefits after two years. Medicare currently covers more than 38 million people, of whom approximately 5 million are disabled under Social Security and approximately 270,000 are ESR patients. Inpatient hospital services, including room, meals, nursing care, operating room services, blood transfusions, special care units, drugs and medical supplies, laboratory tests, therapeutic rehabilitation services, and medical social services.
Hospice care for the terminally ill.
Long-term or custodial care. Personal convenience services such as televisions and telephones, private-duty nurses or the extra costs of private rooms when not medically necessary. Each beneficiary has 60 lifetime reserve days that can be used only once. If services of a skilled nursing facility are needed for continued care of a patient after at least three consecutive days of hospital inpatient care, not including the day of discharge, Medicare will pay for all covered services for the first 20 days. Medicare does not pay for skilled nursing facility care beyond 100 days in each benefit period.