Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
Medicare Part A coverage of inpatient care in a psychiatric hospital is subject to:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Medicare Part A covers inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, but unlike general hospital care it is subject to a lifetime limit of covered days in a psychiatric hospital. Once the lifetime limit is exhausted, Part A will not pay for further inpatient psychiatric hospital days, though care in a general hospital psychiatric unit may be treated differently. This limit is one of the distinctive Part A rules, and it is a frequent exam point on the special limitations built into Medicare's hospital coverage.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Inpatient psychiatric care in a psychiatric hospital is not unlimited; a lifetime cap applies.
- C) The limit is a lifetime cap, not a five-day annual maximum.
- D) Part A does cover psychiatric hospitalization, up to the lifetime limit; it is not excluded.
Memory hook
Psych hospital days in Part A come with a lifetime ceiling — use them wisely, they do not renew.