Traditional Medicare (Parts A and B) never covers prolonged care if that care is only custodial. If you are diagnosed with a chronic condition that requires an assisted-living facility, these parts will not cover your expenses. On the other hand, Medicare will cover acute-care hospital services. These are services for patients who need to be transferred from an intensive or critical care unit. The services covered include respiratory therapy or head trauma. The explanation for this lack of coverage is that Medicare was never meant to cover long-term care. If patients want that, they need to get long-term health insurance or a rider on their life insurance policy that offers it.