It does not. This one costs families more than any other Medicare misunderstanding, and it is worth being blunt about.
Medicare covers skilled nursing care — the kind you need after a qualifying hospital stay, for a limited number of days, while you are actively getting better. It is rehabilitation, not residence.
What it does not cover is custodial care: help with bathing, dressing, eating, getting around. Ongoing daily assistance is not a Medicare benefit no matter how much you need it or how long you have paid in.
That gap is what Medicaid and long-term care insurance exist to fill. Which one applies to a given family is a real planning conversation, and it is one worth having before it is urgent rather than during a hospital discharge.
