Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
Within a Medicare Part A benefit period, the beneficiary must pay a daily coinsurance amount for inpatient hospital days:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Within a benefit period, Part A covers up to 90 days of inpatient hospitalization: the beneficiary pays a single inpatient deductible covering the first 60 days, then a daily copayment for days 61 through 90, and may then draw on a lifetime pool of 60 reserve days for stays beyond day 90. Once a reserve day is used, it is not replenished, and after the reserve is exhausted the beneficiary has no cap on inpatient cost-sharing. The 61-90 copay structure and the 60-day reserve are signature Part A cost-sharing numbers the exam tests together.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Days 1 through 60 are covered by the inpatient deductible rather than a daily copay, and cost-sharing begins at day 61, so this option misplaces the copay entirely.
- C) The first 60 days are covered by one deductible payment, not a daily coinsurance charge for every day, so this option overstates the cost-sharing burden.
- D) The daily copay applies from day 61 onward, before the lifetime reserve is touched, so this option starts the copay after it should end.
Memory hook
Part A: day 1-60 under the deductible, 61-90 pay daily, then 60 lifetime reserve days — 90 plus 60 is the bed math.