Does Medicare Part A cover nursing home care?

After a qualifying inpatient hospital stay, Part A can cover skilled nursing care, meaning care that requires trained medical staff, for a limited number of days. What Part A does not cover is long-term custodial care, which is help with daily activities like eating, bathing, or dressing when that is the only care you need. Many people are surprised by this, because a nursing home stay for custodial reasons is generally not a Medicare benefit. For that kind of long-term care, people often look to Medicaid, long-term care insurance, or personal savings. Part A covers the skilled, short-term side, not ongoing custodial living.