CMS Removes Two-Midnight Policy in FY2017 Proposed Inpatient Payment Rule

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule to update Medicare inpatient payments for fiscal year 2017. CMS’s proposal would completely remove the two-midnight rule for the current and past two fiscal years by adjusting fiscal 2017 payment rates. NTOCC applauds CMS’s proposal to reverse the policy and has advocated for its removal since its introduction in 2013. The rule would also require hospitals to provide a notice to Medicare beneficiaries who have been receiving outpatient services for more than 24 hours informing them about the implications of being treated as an outpatient. Total spending on inpatient services is projected to increase by $539 million in fiscal year 2017.

The deadline to comment on the proposed rule is June 16th. The agency expects to publish a final rule by August 1st.

More information about the proposed rule can be found on CMS’s website here.