Medicare does not pay for long-term nursing care. Medicare pays for an average of 3 to 4 weeks of care.
In order for Medicare to pay for an individual’s skilled nursing care, the individual must need the skilled service(s) and must have had a hospital stay of at least 3 days that requires additional skilled services according to their physician. Medicare coverage is discontinued when the individual no longer requires the skilled service(s), returns to the same level of health prior to the illness or injury that required the skilled service(s) or no longer shows improvement as a result of the skilled service(s).
