Benefit Period

The time that Original Medicare measures your use of hospital or skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. The period begins the day you are admitted as an inpatient in a hospital or SNF and it ends when you haven't received any inpatient hospital or SNF care for 60 days in a row. If you enter into a hospital or SNF after a benefit period has ended, then a new benefit period will begin. You must pay the inpatient hospital deductible for each benefit period and coinsurance is determined by the number of days you have been in the hospital or facility during each period. There is no limit to the number of benefit periods.