If outgoing MedPAC Chairman Glenn Hackbarth had his way, Medicare would pay for skilled nursing services without requiring a three-day hospital stay first.
Hackbarth, who announced he would be retiring from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission next year after 15 years as a member and 14 years as chairman, also said that the recovery audit contractor program should be “better targeted.”
Both declarations cheered long-term care operators, who have lobbied with similar sentiments.
Hackbarth called the three-day hospital-stay prerequisite “archaic.” Long-term care providers and other stakeholders have said the requirement is a holdover from Medicare’s earliest days, and it does not account for the more sophisticated care now offered by skilled nursing facilities. Their opponents say the rule helps to contain costs.
From the November 01, 2014 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
