Often, a person is not ready to return to their home safely following hospitalization and needs more care to continue to gain strength and improve health. A skilled nursing facility (SNF) is a type of nursing facility with the necessary staff and equipment to temporarily treat, manage, and observe your condition and evaluate your care following a hospital stay. SNFs can be part of nursing homes or hospitals. When you’re admitted to a SNF, you may get care from:
- Doctors
- Registered nurses
- Licensed practical and vocational nurses
- Physical and occupational therapists
- Speech-language pathologists
All qualifying patients have the right to choose which skilled nursing facility they wish to provide their care. It is important to have an idea of the facilities and services available in your area before the need arises.
Why would I need care in a SNF?
SNFs offer both skilled nursing and skilled therapy care. Skilled nursing care is designed to help improve your condition through nursing and medical services and prevent or delay it from worsening. Skilled therapy care is designed to improve your condition through physical, occupational, and speech therapies and set up a maintenance program to maintain your condition and delay or prevent it from worsening. Skilled care helps you get better, function more independently, and may help you manage your health moving forward.
Will Medicare cover SNF care?
Typically, Medicare will cover the first 20 days of SNF care at 100%. Medicare then covers 80% of the next 80 days, with secondary insurance covering the remaining 20%.
Medicare will cover SNF care only if all of these are true:
- You have Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and have days left in your benefit period
- You have a medically necessary inpatient hospital stay of 3 consecutive days (3 midnights) or more (called a “qualifying hospital stay”)
- Your hospitalization was for a medical need determined to be a qualified skilled need by Medicare
How long does Medicare cover SNF care?
Medicare uses a period of time called a benefit period to keep track of how many days of SNF benefits you use and how many are still available. A benefit period begins on the day you start getting inpatient hospital or SNF care. You can get up to 100 days of SNF coverage in a benefit period. Your benefit period ends:
- When you haven’t been in a SNF or a hospital for at least 60 days in a row
- If you remain in a SNF without getting skilled care there for at least 60 days in a row
- Once you use 100 days in your benefit period
There’s no limit to the number of benefit periods you can have. However, once a benefit period ends, you must have another 3-day qualifying hospital stay and meet other requirements before you can get up to another 100 days of SNF benefits.
Greenbrier Skilled Nursing has served Enid and Northwest Oklahoma since 1998. Medical Director Dr. Thomas Snyder, Skilled Nursing Director Bobbie Jo Sutton, and physical therapists Dan and Lisa Burchel have provided compassionate and high-quality care to patients since opening day. One of the first freestanding skilled nursing facilities in Oklahoma, Greenbrier Skilled has developed a reputation for providing exceptional care and enabling patients to return to their homes stronger, healthier, and more successful in daily life. Private pay options are available for patients not qualifying for Medicare admission, and tours are welcome. Call 580-242-5104 for more information.
