Senior Living

The Medicare skilled nursing qualification rule is explained on page 28 of the 2026 Medicare & You handbook in the section headed “Am I an inpatient or outpatient?” One must learn that a stay in the hospital does not always mean you are an inpatient and that you qualify for Medicare Part A skilled nursing facility care. If not, you may have to pay 100% out of your own pocket. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Toni Says: Who pays for a skilled nursing stay, Medicare or you?

Senior Living / Toni Says / Oct 23, 2025

Dear Toni,

My husband recently fell from a ladder, shattered his hip and broke his right leg. After having emergency surgery, Jim is having a stay in a skilled nursing facility for his rehab to learn how to walk on his repaired hip.

A friend recently had a skilled nursing stay and was billed more than expected because she did not have the ...Read more

Use www.medicare.gov to verify that your prescription drugs are covered in your 2026 Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage Part D plan formulary. (Monkey Business Images/Dreamstime/Tribune Content Agency)

Toni Says: Help … Need to disenroll from a Medicare Advantage Plan!

Senior Living / Toni Says / Oct 16, 2025

Toni:

In August, my husband and I enrolled in a Medicare Supplement, which has not paid a medical claim because we were in a Medicare Advantage plan when we applied for the Medicare Supplement. We could not leave the Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare due to Medicare rules.

I was told that Medicare’s Open Enrollment is when Sonny...Read more