CMS Revises SNF 3-Day Rule under PHE

Last week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its Skilled Nursing Facility 3-Day Rule Billing Medicare Learning Network fact sheet. CMS authorized the Social Security Act (SSA) Section 1812(f) to waive the 3-day prior hospitalization requirement for a Medicare SNF-covered stay. This gives temporary SNF services emergency coverage without a qualifying hospital stay for patients who experience dislocations or are affected by COVID-19.

Also, last week The Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2021 was introduced in the Senate (S. 2048) by a bipartisan group of lawmakers including Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). The bill would remove the 3-day inpatient hospital stay requirement (when not in a public health emergency) for SNF coverage under Medicare and allow all time spent in the hospital to count toward SNF coverage. Click here to urge your lawmakers to support this bill.