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Coalition praises the passage of new legislation to protect Medicare beneficiaries' access to skilled nursing facility care
Wednesday, 20 April 2011 06:55

Coalition praises the passage of new legislation to protect Medicare beneficiaries' access to skilled nursing facility careRecently, a coalition comprising consumer groups, long term care providers and medical professionals praised four Senators and Representatives for introducing legislation designed to protect vulnerable seniors' access to Medicare benefits.

U.S. Senators John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), along with U.S. Representatives Joe Courtney (D-Connecticut) and Tom Latham (R-Iowa), were applauded for their efforts to improve elderly Americans' access to crucial skilled nursing facility services following hospitalization.

The legislation, called the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2011, amends the Social Security Act by including observation time spent at the hospital in the three-day inpatient requirement for coverage of skilled nursing facility services covered by Medicare Part A.

"The post-acute care community thanks Senators Kerry and Snowe and Representatives Courtney and Latham for their leadership on this critical issue," said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Healthcare Association. "There is no clear-cut line between an inpatient stay and an observation stay, especially if the patient is elderly and frail."

Barbara Kennelly, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, added that the new legislation will protect beneficiaries from significant out-of-pocket costs, whether they are admitted to the hospital as an inpatient or on observation status.
 

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