SGR Bill Would Extend Delay of 'Two-Midnights' Policy

The House Ways and Means bill to temporarily prevent Medicare physician payment cuts also would deliver an Easter gift to hospitals—a six-month extension to comply with a controversial new inpatient payment rule for hospitals.

The existing “two-midnights” rule says admitting physicians must have good reason to believe that a patient will need two nights in the hospital before Medicare will pay full inpatient rates under Part A for the stay. Lacking such documentation, Medicare auditors will generally classify the stay as outpatient observation, which pays hospitals much less under Part B and sticks the patient with a 20% copayment. That rule went into effect Oct. 1. But it was modified so that Medicare's aggressive recovery auditing companies could not overturn claims under the new policy until Sept. 30, 2014.

Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/1hwOUIi

Source: Modern Healthcare