08/01/2026
⚖️ You pay $217 a day for skilled nursing care on days 21 through 100, and Medicare covers up to 100 days per benefit period, not per year.
After day 100, you pay everything.
Custodial care, the everyday help most families actually end up needing, is not covered at all: bathing, dressing, meals, supervision.
That gap is the largest uninsured risk in most retirement plans, and it is one of eight things Original Medicare leaves out.
The other seven are routine dental, hearing aids, routine vision, care outside the United States, routine foot care, cosmetic surgery, and round-the-clock care at home.
Several carry narrow exceptions worth knowing: a diagnostic hearing test ordered by a doctor is covered, one pair of glasses after cataract surgery is covered, foot care becomes covered when a medical condition makes it necessary, and cosmetic surgery is covered for reconstruction after an injury or a mastectomy.
Medigap is the piece people misread most often, because it mainly covers Original Medicare's deductibles and coinsurance rather than adding most of these benefits, though some Medigap plans do cover limited foreign travel emergencies.
Some Medicare Advantage plans add dental, vision, and hearing benefits, with limits that vary from plan to plan.
The rest is a separate purchase: a dental policy, a travel medical policy, long-term care insurance, or eventually Medicaid once assets are spent down.
Which of these eight surprised you the most, or caught you off guard when a bill showed up?
*The content shared here is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not personalized investment, tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult a licensed professional before making decisions based on your specific situation.*
