Congressman
Jim Renacci (R-OH) recently (December 20, 2017) re-introduced the Creating
Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior (CARES) Act of 2017 (H.R.
4701), which eases seniors’ access to care by permitting centers that meet
specific quality measures and ratings to waive the three-day inpatient stay
currently required by the Medicare program.
The CARES Act of 2017
eliminates the three-day inpatient stay required for Medicare coverage of Part
A skilled nursing care benefits by allowing centers that meet particular
criteria to automatically qualify to waive the prior hospitalization
requirement. The criteria are based on the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) Nursing Home Compare program.
AHCA/NCAL
supports eliminating the three-day stay requirement and solving the related
issue of observation stays. AHCA/NCAL also continues to advocate for the Improving Access to Medicare
Coverage Act of 2017 (S. 568/H.R. 1421) that was introduced on March 8, 2017,
by Congressmen Joe Courtney (D-CT) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), and Senators
Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Shelley
Moore Capito (R-WV).
This legislation ensures that time spent under
“observation status” in a hospital counts toward satisfying the three-day
inpatient hospital requirement for coverage of skilled nursing care services
under Medicare.
For more information about observation stays and
the three-day stay requirement, please visit the AHCA/NCAL
website.
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