CMS Relaxes Two-Midnights Admissions Policy, Proposes Hospital Pay Cuts

By Michelle M. Stein / July 2, 2015 at 10:11 AM
Under pressure from hospitals, CMS proposed Wednesday (July 1) to recognize some hospital stays shorter than two midnights as legitimate, but the agency says it believes it will still be rare for patients to be admitted for less than two-midnights. The American Hospital Association says the proposal, which is included in the hospital outpatient proposed pay rule, is a good first step. Hospital outpatient departments would lose about $43 million in 2016 compared to 2015 payments under the policies in...


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