Can a nursing home resident leave for the day or a holiday?
Key takeaways
- Yes. A resident can go out for a meal, a religious service, a holiday or a family event.
- Under Original Medicare, a short leave does not end coverage. If the resident is away at midnight, Medicare does not pay the home for that day.
- A home may charge a bed-hold fee for a Medicare leave only if it told you the amount in advance and you chose to pay it.
- For residents on Medicaid, each state sets how many leave days it pays for.
Yes. Living in a nursing home does not mean staying inside it. Residents go out for Sunday dinner, a grandchild's wedding, church or Thanksgiving at a daughter's house. What changes with the kind of stay is who pays for the bed while it is empty.
What happens on a Medicare-covered stay?
If your loved one is in a nursing home for short-term rehab paid by Original Medicare, a brief leave does not end the coverage. Medicare's Benefit Policy Manual (Chapter 8, Section 30.7.3) says a short leave to attend a religious service, holiday meal or family occasion is not, by itself, evidence that a person no longer needs skilled care. Frequent or long absences are different: Medicare may then question whether the person still needs to be in a nursing home.
- Back before midnight. The day is covered as usual.
- Away at midnight. Medicare does not pay the home for that day. Coverage picks up again on return.
- Bed-hold fee. The home may charge you to hold the bed during an overnight leave only if it told you about the option and the amount beforehand and you agreed to it. It cannot assume you agreed and bill you afterward.
If a Medicare Advantage plan is paying for the stay, ask the plan about its own leave rules. If you are told a holiday visit will end Medicare coverage, you can ask which rule applies, and the long-term care ombudsman can help.
What happens if Medicaid pays for the stay?
Medicaid programs call time away "therapeutic leave" or "home visits." Each state decides whether it pays the home to hold the bed and for how many days a year, and the leave usually has to be written into the plan of care. The home must give you its bed-hold policy in writing.
Differs by stateLeave and bed-hold rules by state
- Maine
- MaineCare pays to hold a bed for up to 7 days per hospital stay when the resident is expected to return, and for up to 20 overnight leaves in a state fiscal year when leave is part of the plan of care. Family or friends may pay for extra days.
- New Hampshire
- New Hampshire Medicaid does not pay to hold a bed during a hospital stay. It pays for up to 30 leave days per resident in a state fiscal year when the leave is part of the plan of care. A resident whose bed was not held can return to the next available bed.
- Rhode Island
- Rhode Island Medicaid does not pay to hold a bed during a hospital stay or any other absence. A family may pay privately; for a Medicaid resident the home may not charge more than its Medicaid daily rate for at least the first 5 days. A resident who still needs the home's care must be readmitted to the first available semi-private bed.
- Vermont
- Vermont Medicaid pays to hold a bed for up to 6 days in a row during a hospital stay, but only when the home would otherwise be full and a return is expected within 10 days. It also pays for up to 24 home-visit days in a calendar year when visits are part of the plan of care. State law separately gives residents the right to keep their bed during a hospital stay of up to 10 days in a row.
Checked against state sources in Oct 2026. State rules are added here as each state is added to this site.
If your state is not listed, ask the home's social worker or your state Medicaid agency how many leave days are paid.
What if you pay privately?
You usually keep paying to hold the bed, at a rate set by your admission agreement. Ask the business office for the leave policy in writing before a longer trip.
How do you plan a day out?
- Tell the nurses a few days ahead, and say when you will leave and return.
- Ask the nurse to prepare the medicines due while you are out, with written times.
- Ask what equipment to take: wheelchair, walker, oxygen, incontinence supplies.
- Check the car. Can your loved one get in and out, and does the wheelchair fit?
- Check the house: steps at the door, a bathroom on the main floor, a quiet place to rest.
- Ask about food. Some residents need soft foods or thickened drinks.
- Keep the day short the first time, and plan around the time of day when they have the most energy.
- Take the home's phone number, and sign out and back in at the desk.
What if going out is too much?
Bring the holiday in. Ask whether the home can set aside a room for a family meal, and whether relatives can join its own holiday dinner. Decorate the door, bring a favorite dish the nurse has approved, and set up a video call with the family table.