Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 3/5
Which statement about Medicare Part A coverage of inpatient psychiatric hospital care is correct?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Medicare Part A places a lifetime limit on inpatient psychiatric hospital care — coverage is limited to a fixed number of days over the beneficiary's lifetime for care in a psychiatric hospital, as distinguished from psychiatric care in a general hospital, which follows the usual Part A benefit-period rules. This lifetime cap is one of the specific Part A limits tested in the senior products objectives, alongside the benefit period and cost-sharing structure.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Part A does impose a lifetime cap on psychiatric hospital care; there is no unlimited lifetime benefit.
- C) Part D covers outpatient prescription drugs, not inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, which is a Part A matter.
- D) Medicare does cover psychiatric care; the point is that inpatient psychiatric hospital care carries a lifetime limit under Part A.
Memory hook
Part A's psychiatric care has a lifetime ceiling: a fixed number of days, once ever — spend them wisely.