The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently confirmed that Medicare contractors will not calculate an average length of stay for long-term care hospitals for cost reporting periods that include the COVID-19 public health emergency, which took effect March 1.

In April, CMS implemented a blanket waiver of the LTCH policy requiring an average length of stay of greater than 25 days. Contractors will resume evaluating compliance with the policy for the first cost reporting period that does not include the public health emergency.

Related News Articles

Headline
The AHA Sept. 15 expressed support for the Ensuring Access to Essential Providers Act, legislation that would require Medicare Advantage plans to cover…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 15 urged Aetna to rescind its recently announced “level of severity inpatient payment” policy, saying that it “could erode the transparency…
Perspective
Public
Every health care provider strives to deliver their patients the best possible care, but not all providers offer the same level or complexity of care. Current…
Headline
A JAMA internal medicine study published Sept. 8 found that since the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries have been experiencing longer…
Headline
A Health Affairs study published Sept. 2 found that less than 40% of Medicare beneficiaries with opioid use disorder received standard care in alignment with…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 3 released a study conducted by KNG Health Consulting that found Medicare patients who receive care in a hospital outpatient department are more…