The answer
What does Medicare Part A cover?
Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital care, meaning care you get when you are formally admitted to a hospital.
It also covers skilled nursing facility care after a qualifying hospital stay, some home health care, and hospice care for people who are terminally ill. Part A is the hospital side of Original Medicare. It does not cover routine doctor visits or outpatient services; those fall under Part B. Part A also does not cover long-term custodial care, meaning help with daily activities like bathing or dressing when that is the only care you need. For inpatient stays, you pay an inpatient deductible of $1,736 per benefit period in 2026 before Part A begins covering your share.