Question

Mr. Rainey is experiencing paranoid delusions and his physician feels that he should be hospitalized. What should you tell Mr. Rainey (or his representative) about the length of an inpatient psychiatric hospital stay that Medicare will cover?

1) Medicare inpatient psychiatric coverage is limited to the same number of days covered for typical inpatient stays.
2) Inpatient psychiatric services are not covered under Original Medicare.
3) Medicare will cover a total of 190 days of inpatient psychiatric care during Mr. Rainey's entire lifetime.
4) D. Medicare will cover, at its allowable amount, as many stays as are needed throughout Mr. Rainey's life, as long as no single stay exceeds 190 days.

Answer 1

Medicare coverage for inpatient psychiatric care is limited to a total of 190 days over a beneficiary's lifetime, and Mr. Rainey or his representative should be informed of this limit. Deductibles and copayments still apply.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question refers to the coverage of inpatient psychiatric hospital stays by Medicare. The correct answer would be that Medicare will cover a total of 190 days of inpatient psychiatric care during Mr. Rainey's entire lifetime. It is important to note that this is a lifetime limit and not a per stay limit. Once this lifetime limit is reached, no further inpatient psychiatric services will be covered by Medicare.

It should also be noted that while inpatient psychiatric services are indeed covered, beneficiaries are still responsible for meeting the deductible charge and making copayments for many hospital-related services, according to the rules pertaining to Medicare Part A.