What Medicare Part A Covers in 2026, and What It Doesn't

Medicare Part A is the "hospital insurance" half of Original Medicare. Whether you're admitted in a big Houston medical center or a small hospital a county or two from home, Part A is the coverage that applies once a doctor formally admits you. Here's what it covers, what it costs in 2026, and where the gaps are.

What Part A covers

• Inpatient hospital care: a semi-private room, meals, general nursing, and drugs and supplies that are part of your inpatient treatment
• Skilled nursing facility (SNF) care: short-term skilled care or rehab after a qualifying inpatient hospital stay
• Hospice care: comfort care for people with a terminal illness
• Home health care: some part-time skilled care at home, when you meet Medicare's conditions (see how Medicare covers home health care)
• Inpatient psychiatric care: in a freestanding psychiatric hospital, Part A pays for up to 190 days over your lifetime

Part A also covers inpatient care in critical access hospitals, the small facilities that serve many rural Texas communities.

What Part A costs in 2026

Most people don't pay a monthly premium for Part A. What you do pay are deductibles and daily coinsurance when you use it.

Part A cost (2026)	Amount
Monthly premium	$0 for most people; $311 or $565 if you buy it
Hospital deductible	$1,736 per benefit period
Hospital days 1–60	$0 after the deductible
Hospital days 61–90	$434 per day
Days 91–150 (lifetime reserve days)	$868 per day, 60 days total for your lifetime
Skilled nursing days 1–20	$0
Skilled nursing days 21–100	$217 per day
Skilled nursing after day 100	You pay all costs

These are 2026 figures. CMS announces the next year's amounts each fall, and we'll update this page when the 2027 numbers are out.

The deductible catch: benefit periods

The Part A deductible isn't yearly. It applies to each benefit period, which starts when you're admitted and ends once you've gone 60 days in a row without inpatient hospital or skilled nursing care.

So a hospital stay in March and another in October could mean paying the $1,736 deductible twice in the same year. Original Medicare also has no yearly cap on what you pay out of pocket.

Inpatient vs. observation: a costly difference

You can spend the night in a hospital bed and still not be an inpatient. You become an inpatient only when a doctor orders your admission and the hospital formally admits you. Until then, emergency room care and observation services are outpatient care, covered under Part B.

That matters two ways. You'll owe Part B coinsurance on outpatient services, and observation time doesn't count toward the three inpatient days you generally need before Part A covers skilled nursing care. If you're under observation for more than 24 hours, the hospital must give you a Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice (MOON). Ask each day which status you're in.

What Part A doesn't cover

• Custodial care, such as help with bathing, dressing, and eating, when that's the only care you need
• Private-duty nursing, or a private room unless it's medically necessary
• Extras like a TV or phone the hospital charges for separately, and personal care items
• Doctors' services while you're in the hospital. Those fall under Part B. See our Part A vs. Part B guide.
• Most prescription drugs you take at home. Those need Part D or a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage.

How Texans fill the gaps

Because Part A has a per-stay deductible and Original Medicare has no out-of-pocket cap, many people add coverage:

• A Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy helps pay your share of costs in Original Medicare. Companies that sell it in Texas are licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance, and many standardized plans pay all or part of the Part A deductible.
• A Medicare Advantage plan replaces how you get your Part A and B benefits and has a yearly limit on what you pay for covered services.

The right fit depends on your health, your budget, and which hospitals you can realistically reach. In rural Texas, that may mean checking whether the hospital you'd use, and the bigger one you might be transferred to, work with a plan. Compare your choices in our Medicare Advantage vs. Original Medicare guide.

If your income and savings are limited, a Texas Medicare Savings Program may help with Medicare costs. Limits change yearly, so check with HICAP or read our guide to Part B premium help in Texas.