Medicare will stop imposing an inpatient payment cut to hospitals under the “two-midnight rule,” according to a report in Modern Healthcare. The action comes after months of industry criticism and a legal challenge.
The Society of Hospital Medicine, in both open letters to CMS and in testimony before Congress, had ardently opposed the two-midnight rule.
According to the report, CMS estimated the two-midnight policy would increase Medicare spending by ~$220 million due to expected increases in admissions. Hospitals also will see a one-time increase of 0.6% in fiscal 2017, making up for the 0.2% reduction to the rates the last three years.
Read the full story on changes to the two-midnight rule.