Groups welcome bill on Medicare observation stays

Advocates are welcoming a bill that would clarify Medicare's policy on hospital observation stays — rules that currently leave some seniors without coverage for subsequent nursing-home care.

The measure from Reps. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Tom Latham (R-Iowa) would count observation stays toward the requirement that patients spend three days in the hospital to trigger follow-up coverage in skilled nursing facilities.

The bill, introduced Thursday, received praise from the American Health Care Association and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM). 

"Current Medicare rules have left too many seniors trapped in a coverage gap resulting in huge out of pocket costs," NCPSSM President Max Richtman said in a statement.

"It makes no sense for seniors who’ve been in the hospital for extended periods to be denied coverage for skilled nursing care simply because the hospital listed their status as observational instead of inpatient."

A similar bill was introduced in the Senate by Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Previous attempts to change these rules have not moved past committee.

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