A fall that ends with "you'll need a few weeks of rehab" rarely comes with time to research. A hospital discharge planner may hand you two or three names and want an answer within a day, sometimes less.
This is what to check on Medicare's own comparison tool before you agree to one, and the questions that matter more than which building happens to have an open bed today.
Decision
Which situation matches yours?
Pick what's true right now so the checklist below points you to what matters most.
What Medicare's Comparison Tool Actually Shows You
Medicare Care Compare is a free tool at medicare.gov that rates nearly every Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home in the country on a 1-to-5 star scale, built from health inspections, staffing levels, and quality measures like how often residents are rehospitalized. You can search by zip code and compare up to three facilities side by side.
The overall star rating is a starting point, not the full picture. The staffing rating and the health inspection rating often move independently of it, and either one can tell you something the headline number hides.
If the hospital stay itself is still unresolved, for example whether you were ever formally admitted, A Fall Can End in an Overnight Stay That Doesn't Count explains why that status changes what rehab coverage you get.
The Questions That Matter More Than Distance From Home
Two facilities with the same star rating can deliver very different recovery experiences. Ask specifically about therapy minutes scheduled per day, not just offered, and ask what the facility's hospital readmission rate looks like for people recovering from a fall or fracture, since that number reflects how well they manage the handoff back to home.
Once you've picked a facility, the setup at home still needs attention. Someone has to arrange the ride there, check on the house, and be ready to help once you're discharged again.
Make sure rides, meals, and follow-up help are covered.
Build my scheduleClose tool
Organize rides, meals, pickups, and check-ins with dates, helpers, and follow-up timing.
Checklist
Before you tell the discharge planner yes
This takes about fifteen minutes and can be done from a hospital room on a phone.
0 of 4 done.
Timeline
Track the days that determine your coverage
Mark these dates as soon as you know your admission date.
Ask directly whether you're an inpatient or under observation. Only inpatient days count toward the three-day rule.
Coverage is full through day 20, then a daily coinsurance applies from day 21 through day 100.
Before coverage runs out, ask the care team what happens next and whether continued therapy is medically necessary.
Request a written summary of the stay, remaining therapy needs, and any equipment the discharge team recommends.
Save what you checked here so it's in one place before you decide.
What Medicare Actually Pays For, and For How Long
Original Medicare covers a skilled nursing facility stay only after at least three consecutive days as a hospital inpatient, and only if you're admitted to the facility within 30 days of that hospital stay. Coverage is full for the first 20 days, then requires a daily coinsurance from day 21 through day 100. After day 100, Medicare stops paying and you're responsible for the full cost unless you have other coverage.
Medicare Advantage plans can structure this differently, so ask your plan directly how many skilled nursing days it authorizes and whether it requires the same three-day hospital stay. What a Fall Can Cost in Durable Medical Equipment covers what happens once you're back home and need a walker, wheelchair, or hospital bed.
