Placing Medicare Beneficiaries at Financial Risk: the Cost of Observation, Inpatient Hospitalization, and Neighborhood Disadvantage.

Medicare patients hospitalized as inpatients (Part A coverage) are responsible for paying the initial inpatient deductible, after which out-of-pocket costs are capped for the original stay and any subsequent inpatient care in the 60-day benefit period. However, some individual observation hospitalizations (Part B coverage) lack an out-of-pocket limit, and none has a benefit period.[2] Patients experiencing multiple observation hospitalizations, or observation hospitalizations followed by inpatient hospitalizations, may be particularly susceptible to out-of-pocket costs that exceed the inpatient deductible - forcing them to choose between significant financial burden and avoidance of necessary health care. [Extracted from the article]