§409.65. Lifetime reserve days. — Inbound Citations

(2) Each beneficiary has a non-renewable lifetime reserve of 60 days of inpatient hospital or inpatient CAH services that he may draw upon whenever he is hospitalized for more than 90 days in a benefit period. Upon exhaustion of the regular benefit days, the reserve days will be used unless the beneficiary elects not to use them, as provided in § 409.65. For lifetime reserve days, Medicare pays for all covered services except for a daily coinsurance amount that is the beneficiary's responsibility. (See § 409.83.)

(b) Even though the requirements of paragraph (a)(2) of this section are met, lifetime reserve days are not counted toward the allowable amounts if the beneficiary elected or is deemed to have elected not to use them as set forth in § 409.65.