Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital care. Which service is generally NOT covered by Part A?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Part A covers the institutional side of inpatient care — semi-private room and board, nursing services, hospital lab work, and supplies during the stay — but it does not cover physician and surgeon fees. Those professional services are billed under Medicare Part B, which pays 80% of the approved amount after the Part B deductible. The Part A/Part B division of labor, institutional versus professional, is a foundational Medicare structure. A beneficiary hospitalized under Part A still receives separate Part B bills from the doctors who treated them, which is a classic cause of confusion the exam tests directly.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Room and board in a semi-private hospital room is a core Part A inpatient benefit, so this option is covered rather than excluded.
- C) Nursing services received as part of the inpatient admission are covered under Part A, so this option is part of the institutional benefit.
- D) Laboratory tests performed during an inpatient stay are covered as part of the Part A hospital benefit, so this option is also on the covered side.
Memory hook
Part A pays the hospital, not the doctor. The physician's bill rides on Part B.