Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) reintroduced legislation, which amends a Medicare law that requires a beneficiary to have an “inpatient” hospital stay of at least three days in order for Medicare to pay for post-hospitalization skilled nursing care. The Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act (S. 843) would allow patients’ time under “observation status” to count toward the requisite three-day hospital stay for coverage of skilled nursing care. Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT) reintroduced the House companion bill (H.R. 1571).

“The last thing seniors should worry about after being hospitalized is their Medicare coverage. But far too many seniors don’t know if their hospitalizations are under observation status, only to find out after that Medicare won’t cover their nursing home stays,” said Senator Brown. “This bipartisan bill would make sure seniors receive the care they need after hospitalization without additional costs."

First introduced in 2010, the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act received broad bipartisan support in the 113th Congress and was endorsed by the Observation Status Coalition. The Coalition is a wide-ranging group of organizations, which includes NASL and several national organizations such as the American Health Care Association (AHCA), AARP, the American Medical Association, LeadingAge and the Center for Medicare Advocacy.