In short
- Medicare covers skilled nursing facility care only after a medically necessary inpatient stay of at least 3 days in a row.
- In 2026 you pay $0 for days 1 to 20, $217 a day for days 21 to 100, and all costs after day 100.
- Custodial care, meaning help with bathing, dressing and eating, isn't covered by Medicare or Medigap.
- A semi-private Nebraska nursing home room had a 2025 median cost of $275 a day, or $100,521 a year.
- Nebraska Medicaid, long-term care insurance and the Nebraska Long-Term Care Partnership are the main ways people pay.
It's one of the most common surprises in Medicare. A parent breaks a hip, spends a few days in the hospital, moves to a nursing home for rehab, and the family assumes Medicare will keep paying. It won't, at least not for long. Medicare pays for a short stretch of skilled care. It doesn't pay for long-term care.
Does Medicare pay for nursing homes?
Only for short-term skilled care, not for long-term living in a nursing home. Medicare.gov says it plainly: "Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care." What Medicare does cover is a skilled nursing facility (SNF) stay after a hospital stay, when you need daily skilled care to recover.
The difference comes down to the kind of care you need.
| Skilled care | Custodial care | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Care that needs a nurse or therapist: IV medications, wound care, physical, occupational or speech therapy | Help with daily living: bathing, dressing, eating, using the bathroom, getting in and out of bed |
| Who provides it | Licensed nurses and therapists | Aides and caregivers |
| Purpose | Recover from an illness, injury or surgery | Ongoing help with a chronic illness or disability |
| Does Medicare pay? | Yes, for a limited time, if you qualify | No |
| Does Medigap pay? | Several plans pay the daily coinsurance | No |
Most long-term nursing home care is custodial, which is why Medicare doesn't cover it.
What does Medicare cover for skilled nursing care in 2026?
Part A covers up to 100 days in a skilled nursing facility per benefit period, if you meet the rules. Here is what you pay in 2026:
| Days in a benefit period | What you pay (2026) |
|---|---|
| Days 1 to 20 | $0 per day |
| Days 21 to 100 | $217 per day |
| Day 101 and beyond | All costs |
The 2026 Part A hospital deductible of $1,736 applies to the hospital stay that comes first. Covered SNF care includes a semi-private room, meals, skilled nursing, therapy, medications and medical supplies.
To qualify, you need all of these:
- A medically necessary inpatient hospital stay of at least 3 days in a row
- Admission to a Medicare-certified skilled nursing facility, generally within 30 days of leaving the hospital
- A need for daily skilled care related to the hospital stay
The 100 days are a maximum, not a promise. Coverage stops when you no longer need daily skilled care, even if that's day 12.
Medicare Advantage plans set their own skilled nursing rules and daily copays, and may require prior authorization. Check your plan's Evidence of Coverage.
What about home health care and hospice?
Medicare covers some care at home, but not round-the-clock help. If you're homebound and need part-time or intermittent skilled care, Medicare covers home health services, generally up to 8 hours a day combined and 28 hours a week. You pay nothing for covered home health services, and 20% for medical equipment. It doesn't cover 24-hour care or help with daily living when that's all you need.
Hospice is covered for people with a terminal illness and a life expectancy of 6 months or less, including in a nursing home. But Medicare won't pay room and board in the facility in most cases.
How much does long-term care cost in Nebraska?
A lot. CareScout's 2025 Cost of Care Survey, published in March 2026, puts the Nebraska medians here:
| Type of care (2025 median) | Nebraska | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing home, semi-private room | $275 a day, $100,521 a year | $315 a day, $114,975 a year |
| Nursing home, private room | $303 a day, $110,595 a year | $355 a day, $129,575 a year |
| Assisted living, private one-bedroom | $6,350 a month, $76,200 a year | $6,200 a month, $74,400 a year |
| In-home caregiver (44 hours a week) | $36 an hour, $82,368 a year | $35 an hour, $80,080 a year |
| Adult day health care | $163 a day, $42,250 a year | $24,700 a year |
These are statewide figures. CareScout surveys Lincoln, Omaha and Grand Island, but its published tables don't break out those cities, so local prices may run higher or lower.
Who pays for long-term care if Medicare doesn't?
Most families use some mix of savings, insurance and Medicaid.
Nebraska Medicaid. Medicaid pays for nursing home care for people who meet its income and asset rules. In Nebraska, applications go through DHHS at iServe Nebraska or (855) 632-7633. For 2026, Nebraska DHHS lists:
- A resource limit of $4,000 for an individual in the aged, blind and disabled category
- A community spouse resource allowance between $32,532 and $162,660, so the spouse at home keeps some savings
- A maximum monthly maintenance allowance of $4,067 for the spouse at home
- A $75 monthly personal needs allowance for a nursing home resident
Nebraska also runs the Aged and Disabled Waiver, which pays for services like personal care, respite, home-delivered meals and assisted living so people who need nursing-home-level care can stay at home. In Lincoln, Aging Partners coordinates waiver services for people 65 and older.
Nebraska can seek repayment of Medicaid costs from the estate of someone who was 55 or older when they got help, or who was permanently in an institution, but only after the recipient and any surviving spouse have died. A 2025 law, LB641, added a protection for relatives who lived with and cared for the person. These rules are detailed. Bill doesn't enroll people in Medicaid. Talk with DHHS or an elder law attorney.
Long-term care insurance. Traditional and hybrid policies pay for custodial care at home or in a facility. Nebraska joined the Long-Term Care Partnership program on July 1, 2006. A qualifying Partnership policy gives you a dollar-for-dollar asset disregard: if your policy pays $150,000 in benefits and you later need Medicaid, Nebraska disregards $150,000 of your assets. Our pages on long-term care insurance and traditional vs hybrid policies go further.
Veterans' benefits. The Grand Island VA Medical Center runs a Community Living Center for long-term care, rehab and hospice, and the state-run Central Nebraska Veterans' Home is in Kearney. Our Medicare for veterans guide covers VA options.
How should you plan for it?
Start before you need it. Know what Medicare covers and what it doesn't, so a hospital discharge doesn't catch you off guard. Our guide to what Medicare doesn't cover lists the other gaps, and Medicare vs Medicaid in Nebraska explains how the two programs split the bill. The long-term care FAQ answers common questions.
For unbiased help, call Nebraska SHIP at 1-800-234-7119, Aging Partners at 402-441-7070 in Lancaster County, or 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (TTY 1-877-486-2048). If you'd like to talk through how your Medicare coverage handles a hospital and rehab stay, talk to me.
Frequently asked questions
Only short-term skilled care. Part A covers up to 100 days in a skilled nursing facility per benefit period after a medically necessary inpatient hospital stay of at least 3 days in a row, if you need daily skilled care like therapy or wound care. In 2026 you pay $0 for days 1 to 20 and $217 a day for days 21 to 100. Medicare doesn't pay for long-term custodial care.
To qualify for Medicare's skilled nursing benefit, you need a medically necessary inpatient hospital stay of at least 3 days in a row, and you generally must enter the facility within 30 days of leaving the hospital. Time spent in the emergency room or under observation doesn't count toward the 3 days, even if you stayed overnight. Ask the hospital every day if you're an inpatient or an outpatient.
According to CareScout's 2025 Cost of Care Survey, the Nebraska median was $275 a day for a semi-private room, about $100,521 a year, and $303 a day for a private room, about $110,595 a year. Assisted living ran a median $6,350 a month. Those are statewide medians, and prices in Lincoln, Omaha and Grand Island can differ.
No. Medigap helps with your share of costs for care Medicare covers. Several plans, including Plans C, D, F, G, M and N, pay the skilled nursing coinsurance for days 21 to 100, which is $217 a day in 2026. But once care becomes custodial, or you pass day 100, Medigap pays nothing. Medicare.gov says Medigap doesn't pay for long-term care services.
Most people pay from savings, long-term care insurance, or Medicaid if they qualify. In Nebraska, Medicaid applications go through DHHS at iServe Nebraska. Nebraska also takes part in the Long-Term Care Partnership program, which lets qualifying insurance policyholders protect assets equal to the benefits their policy paid. Veterans may also have options through the VA.
Nebraska Medicaid has spousal impoverishment protections. For 2026, Nebraska DHHS lists a community spouse resource allowance between $32,532 and $162,660, and a maximum monthly maintenance allowance of $4,067 for the spouse at home. The rules are detailed, and Nebraska DHHS makes the eligibility decisions, so talk with DHHS or an elder law attorney before you plan around them.
Sources
- Medicare.gov: Skilled nursing facility care (opens in a new tab)
- Medicare.gov: Long-term care (opens in a new tab)
- Medicare & You 2027 handbook (CMS Product No. 10050) (opens in a new tab)
- CareScout: Cost of Care Survey 2025, median cost data tables (opens in a new tab)
- Nebraska DHHS: Income levels and resources (477-000-012) (opens in a new tab)
- Nebraska Department of Insurance: Long-term care and the Partnership program (opens in a new tab)
- Nebraska DHHS: Aged and Disabled Medicaid Waiver (opens in a new tab)
- Nebraska Legislature: LB641 (2025), Medicaid estate recovery (opens in a new tab)
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options. 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.
