What Does Medicare Pay For Nursing Home Care? 
Medicare pays for the first 20 days of a * qualified stay in the nursing home , and then it will pay all but $ 152/day to day 100 . After day 100 , the only nursing home care that is paid is what would have been paid if the recipient is not in the nursing home . I.e. Drugs and durable medical equipment , doctor visits , hospital stays , and other qualified products and services . * To be a qualified stay , the patient must have been in the hospital for at least three days for the same condition for which they are going to the nursing home . The health condition must be medically determined to need skilled nursing care from a Medicare approved facility . Without these qualifiers , Medicare will not pay any part of the nursing home care , except that which they would have received if they not in a nursing home . 