Baton Rouge Senior AdvisorWhat is the difference between rehab and long-term care in a nursing home?
Short-term rehab is skilled nursing and therapy after a hospital stay, aimed at going home and usually paid by Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan; long-term care is ongoing custodial and nursing care for someone who will live there, paid privately or by Louisiana Medicaid.
Most Baton Rouge-area nursing homes do both, often on separate halls. A parent admitted for rehab after a hip fracture can transition to long-term care in the same building if recovery stalls, which is why the long-term side matters even for a rehab stay.
How long does Medicare pay for rehab in a nursing home?
Up to 100 days per benefit period after an inpatient hospital stay of at least three days, with days 1 to 20 fully covered and a daily coinsurance from day 21, but only while the patient needs and benefits from daily skilled care.
Coverage often ends well before day 100, when therapy progress plateaus. The facility must give written notice before Medicare coverage ends, and the patient can request a fast appeal.
What is an inpatient rehabilitation hospital, and how is it different?
An inpatient rehabilitation hospital provides more intensive therapy, typically three hours a day, under closer physician oversight than a nursing home; the Baton Rouge area has several licensed rehabilitation hospitals.
Patients recovering from strokes, brain injuries or major orthopedic surgery may qualify. Ask the hospital case manager whether your parent is a candidate before agreeing to a nursing home rehab bed.
Who pays for long-term nursing home care?
The resident pays privately, long-term care insurance pays if there is a policy, or Louisiana Medicaid pays once the resident meets the income, asset and level-of-care rules; Medicare does not pay for custodial care.
Families often begin a Medicaid application during the rehab stay if a long-term stay looks likely. See nursing home Medicaid.
How do we choose a nursing home for rehab in Baton Rouge?
Look at CMS's short-stay quality measures and staffing data, ask how many therapy hours a day patients get and on which days, and pick a home whose long-term side you would also accept in case recovery stalls.
Hospitals must give a list of available facilities, but you can choose. Each nursing home page on this site shows the CMS ratings, inspection results and staffing figures you need.
Side by side
| Short-term rehab | Long-term nursing care | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Recover and go home | Ongoing care where the resident lives |
| Payer | Medicare or Medicare Advantage, time-limited | Private funds, insurance or Medicaid |
| Entry | After a qualifying hospital stay | Level-of-care determination by OAAS |
| Length | Days or weeks | Months or years |
Sources: LAC 48:I.Chapter 68 for adult residential care, Louisiana Department of Health (Health Standards Section and Office of Aging and Adult Services) program pages, the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs, CareScout and VA rate tables, each cited in the text. Our editorial standards explain how we check them.
