Part A helps cover the following:

* Inpatient care in hospitals (includes critical access hospitals and inpatient rehabilitation facilities)
* Inpatient stays in a skilled nursing facility (not custodial or long‑term care)
* Hospice care services
* Home health care services
* Inpatient care in a Religious Nonmedical Health Care Institution (facility that provides non-medical, non-religious health care items and services to people who need hospital or skilled nursing facility care but for whom that care wouldn’t be in agreement with their religious beliefs)

You usually don’t pay a monthly premium for Part A coverage if you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes while working.

If you aren’t eligible for premium-free Part A, you may be able to buy Part A if you meet the citizenship or residency requirements and you are age 65 or older or you are under age 65, disabled, and your premium-free Part A coverage ended because you returned to work.

Note: The 2010 premium amount for people who buy Part A is up to $461 each month.

Costs: Generally you pay the Part A Deductible of $1100 for each Inpatient Hospital Stay each 60-day benefit period and some cases up to 20% of the Medicare Approved Amount. Your Medicare and You Handbook detail all the Part A costs for each covered service.