Does Medicare pay for short-term rehab in a nursing home?

Medicare covers a skilled nursing facility stay only after a qualifying inpatient hospital stay of at least 3 days in a row, counted from the day you were admitted as an inpatient and not counting the day you leave. Time in the hospital under observation, or in the emergency room before you are admitted, does not count toward the 3 days, even overnight.

How much does short-term rehab cost with Medicare in 2026?

In 2026 you pay $0 a day for days 1 to 20 after the $1,736 Part A deductible for the benefit period. In 2026 you pay $217 a day for days 21 to 100, and all costs from day 101. Part A covers at most 100 skilled nursing facility days in each benefit period.

How do I compare nursing homes for rehab?

Look at how often a home's short-stay residents return home or to the community, and how often they go back to the hospital. CMS compares every home with the national rate after adjusting for how sick its residents were: of the 11,591 homes it compares on returning home, 2,872 are better than the national rate and 1,336 are worse (data as of September 1, 2026).

Short-Term Rehab After a Hospital Stay: Costs and Results

What Medicare pays for

Medicare covers a skilled nursing facility stay only after a qualifying inpatient hospital stay of at least 3 days in a row, counted from the day you were admitted as an inpatient and not counting the day you leave.Medicare.gov
Time in the hospital under observation, or in the emergency room before you are admitted, does not count toward the 3 days, even overnight.Medicare.gov
You may not need the 3-day stay if your doctor is in an Accountable Care Organization approved for a Skilled Nursing Facility 3-Day Rule Waiver, so ask whether Medicare will cover the stay.Medicare.gov
You generally need to enter the skilled nursing facility within 30 days of leaving the hospital, and your doctor must decide you need daily skilled care.Medicare.gov

What you pay in 2026

In 2026 you pay $0 a day for days 1 to 20 after the $1,736 Part A deductible for the benefit period.Medicare.gov
In 2026 you pay $217 a day for days 21 to 100, and all costs from day 101. Part A covers at most 100 skilled nursing facility days in each benefit period.Medicare.gov
You do not pay the Part A deductible again for skilled nursing facility care if you already paid it for a hospital stay in the same benefit period.Medicare.gov

What the care includes

Skilled care is nursing and therapy care that can only be done safely by, or under the supervision of, professionals, given to treat, manage and observe your condition.Medicare.gov
Covered services include a shared room, meals, skilled nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapy when needed for your goal, medical social services, medications, and supplies and equipment used in the facility.Medicare.gov
If your hospital has its own skilled nursing facility and a bed is free, you may choose to stay there; many nursing homes also offer skilled nursing facility care.Medicare.gov

Other places rehab happens

A rehabilitation hospital (IRF) is for people recovering from a serious surgery, illness or injury who need an intensive therapy program, physician supervision and coordinated care.Medicare.gov
For a rehabilitation hospital stay, your provider must certify that you need intensive rehabilitation, continued medical supervision and coordinated care.Medicare.gov
Long-term care hospitals usually treat patients with more than one serious condition, and many patients go on to a skilled nursing facility afterward.Medicare.gov

Rehabilitation hospitals and long-term care hospitals are separate kinds of Medicare providers and are not listed on this site.

How to compare nursing homes for rehab

CMS reports each skilled nursing facility's rate of successful return to home or community, adjusted for how sick its residents were.CMS
CMS also reports the rate of potentially preventable hospital readmissions in the 30 days after discharge from a skilled nursing facility.CMS

Every home page on this site shows these results in its short-term rehab section. The first three are risk-adjusted, and CMS itself says whether the home is better than, no different from, or worse than the national rate. Most homes are no different; a "better" or "worse" is the signal.

Measure	Period	Homes reported	Better	Worse	Median of homes
Went home or back to the community Rate of successful return to home or community from a SNF (risk-standardized discharge to community rate). Higher is better.	October 2022 to September 2024	11,591	2,872	1,336	51.5%
Potentially preventable readmissions Rate of potentially preventable hospital readmissions 30 days after discharge from a SNF (risk-standardized rate). Lower is better.	October 2022 to September 2024	12,836	81	298	10.7%
Infections that led to a hospital stay Percentage of infections residents got during their SNF stay that resulted in hospitalization (risk-standardized rate). Lower is better.	October 2023 to September 2024	11,018	85	209	7.1%
Self-care and mobility at discharge Percentage of residents who are at or above an expected ability to care for themselves and move around at discharge. Higher is better.	October 2024 to September 2025	11,061			56.6%
Falls with major injury Percentage of SNF residents who experience one or more falls with major injury during their SNF stay. Lower is better.	October 2024 to September 2025	12,291			0.0%
New or worsened pressure ulcers Percentage of residents with pressure ulcers or pressure injuries that are new or worsened (adjusted rate). Lower is better.	October 2024 to September 2025	12,290			1.7%
Medication list given at discharge Percentage of residents where the SNF provided a current medication list to the resident, family, and/or caregiver at final discharge. Higher is better.	October 2024 to September 2025	6,130			98.7%

Returning residents home, state by state

Of the homes CMS compares in each state, how many it rates better or worse than the national rate at returning short-stay residents home or to the community. Among states with 20 or more compared homes, Hawaii has the largest share rated better (83%). Click a column to sort.

State	Homes compared	Better	Worse	Share better	Median rate	Worse on readmissions
Alabama	177	41	10	23%	50.6%	3
Alaska	7	4	1	57%	60.1%	0
Arizona	125	74	1	59%	61.4%	1
Arkansas	174	7	25	4%	47.5%	3
California	969	301	190	31%	51.4%	22
Colorado	139	39	8	28%	54.5%	0
Connecticut	173	75	2	43%	58.4%	3
Delaware	37	17	1	46%	58.2%	0
District of Columbia	15	4	7	27%	42.1%	0
Florida	624	169	109	27%	50.0%	35
Georgia	257	49	27	19%	49.2%	17
Guam	1	1	0	100%	65.2%	0
Hawaii	29	24	0	83%	68.1%	0
Idaho	60	18	3	30%	54.3%	0
Illinois	531	106	85	20%	47.8%	14
Indiana	384	111	7	29%	54.2%	17
Iowa	252	28	21	11%	49.6%	1
Kansas	177	42	17	24%	50.1%	0
Kentucky	220	38	49	17%	47.2%	12
Louisiana	190	16	33	8%	46.1%	3
Maine	59	16	2	27%	54.6%	0
Maryland	209	90	29	43%	55.5%	41
Massachusetts	303	121	19	40%	55.3%	15
Michigan	369	89	22	24%	53.3%	9
Minnesota	247	66	14	27%	54.5%	0
Mississippi	145	21	14	14%	49.7%	10
Missouri	306	41	31	13%	48.9%	7
Montana	31	7	2	23%	49.2%	0
Nebraska	117	17	24	15%	43.9%	0
Nevada	49	9	7	18%	51.0%	5
New Hampshire	66	19	5	29%	53.7%	0
New Jersey	323	130	19	40%	55.0%	8
New Mexico	61	15	4	25%	53.7%	2
New York	536	101	157	19%	46.5%	5
North Carolina	391	93	25	24%	52.0%	4
North Dakota	36	0	21	0%	38.7%	0
Ohio	686	147	20	21%	53.5%	7
Oklahoma	163	24	16	15%	51.8%	9
Oregon	102	52	3	51%	59.7%	0
Pennsylvania	602	100	108	17%	48.4%	9
Puerto Rico	5	3	0	60%	59.1%	0
Rhode Island	62	24	1	39%	56.7%	0
South Carolina	163	53	21	33%	53.5%	5
South Dakota	44	7	10	16%	47.4%	0
Tennessee	273	62	16	23%	52.9%	7
Texas	772	116	50	15%	50.4%	9
Utah	74	40	0	54%	60.4%	0
Vermont	26	8	3	31%	51.7%	0
Virginia	265	101	22	38%	55.4%	9
Washington	174	71	16	41%	55.8%	0
West Virginia	98	9	28	9%	43.0%	0
Wisconsin	271	52	26	19%	51.8%	6
Wyoming	22	4	5	18%	49.7%	0

Source: CMS Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program - Provider Data (837,330 rows), released 2026-09-30. "Better" and "worse" are CMS's categories; medians and counts are ours. A home with too few stays is not compared.

Common questions

Does Medicare pay for short-term rehab in a nursing home?: Medicare covers a skilled nursing facility stay only after a qualifying inpatient hospital stay of at least 3 days in a row, counted from the day you were admitted as an inpatient and not counting the day you leave. Time in the hospital under observation, or in the emergency room before you are admitted, does not count toward the 3 days, even overnight.
How much does short-term rehab cost with Medicare in 2026?: In 2026 you pay $0 a day for days 1 to 20 after the $1,736 Part A deductible for the benefit period. In 2026 you pay $217 a day for days 21 to 100, and all costs from day 101. Part A covers at most 100 skilled nursing facility days in each benefit period.
How do I compare nursing homes for rehab?: Look at how often a home's short-stay residents return home or to the community, and how often they go back to the hospital. CMS compares every home with the national rate after adjusting for how sick its residents were: of the 11,591 homes it compares on returning home, 2,872 are better than the national rate and 1,336 are worse (data as of September 1, 2026).

General information from Medicare's and CMS's own pages, each linked where it is used. Not medical advice; Medicare's rules and your plan decide what is covered. Medicare Advantage plans can differ. Also see CCRC nursing homes and veterans homes.

Short-term rehab after a hospital stay