How Aspire Health’s Medicare Advantage plans help with hospital or SNF stays

Skilled nursing care and rehabilitation services are provided on a continuous, daily basis, in a SNF. The care you receive in a SNF is similar to the care you receive in a hospital and will be provided by nurses under a doctor’s supervision. As Medicare.gov explains, it’s healthcare given when you need skilled nursing therapy to treat, manage, and observe your condition. A stay in a SNF begins when a patient is recovering from an illness or injuries. The goal is to get you well enough to return home.

The main difference between an SNF and a nursing home is how long you receive care. While skilled nursing care or therapy is temporary, care received at a nursing home is designed to be long-term. A nursing home provides residential care for people who aren’t able to live independently. Nursing home care is focused on daily living such as dressing, eating, bathing, and assistance with medications.

Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) covers inpatient healthcare costs including hospital stays, SNFs, hospice care and home health care. Medicare Part A covers 100 days in SNF after a qualifying hospital stay. Part A deductible covers first 20 days per benefit period; after that, you pay part of the cost for each additional day of the stay- you would pay the full cost after 100 days. Note that long-term care such as nursing homes is not covered by Medicare. There is no monthly premium for Medicare Part A services. For more information on Medicare Part A, read our previous blog.

Visit Medicare.gov for more details about how Medicare Part A covers hospital stays, SNFs, hospice care and home health care. If you have any questions, contact Aspire Health Plan’s Member Services team at (855) 570-1600.

It may seem like a stay in a SNF begins when you walk in the door and ends when you walk out, but that is not the case with Aspire Health Plan. Whether your stay began for a scheduled hospital procedure or from an emergency need, a stay in a SNF is a significant disruption to your life. Rarely can you expect to return to your normal self right away. That’s why with Aspire, your hospital or SNF stay begins when the need for it is identified (perhaps even weeks before the day you arrive) and ends when you are back to your optimal health status.

Recently, we began a new program to help you throughout that continuum — supplementing our nurse care management team with a new group of care-traffic controllers, known as “care guides.” Care guides are not clinical professionals, but rather highly trained experts in helping you navigate the demanding and confusing healthcare landscape. They make sure you’re fully prepared for your admission (when possible) and that your return home and transition to recovery go smoothly. Contact us for more information on working with a care guide.