NOTICE Act introduced in Senate

New legislation introduced in the Senate would require hospitals to notify Medicare beneficiaries of their outpatient status within 36 hours after the time of their classification or, if sooner, upon discharge.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) introduced the Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility (NOTICE) Act (S. 1349). The introduction follows the March 17 unanimous passage of the NOTICE Act (H.R. 876) in the U.S. House of Representatives. There, it was sponsored by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Rep. Todd Young (R-IN).

“Millions of individuals that leave a hospital preparing for a short stay in a skilled nursing center will benefit from this legislation,” said AHCA Senior Vice President of Government Relations Clifton J. Porter II. “Patients will now have the right to know what their hospital status is before getting the news that they owe thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs.”

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House passage of NOTICE Act is 'encouraging,' AHCA says

Lois Bowers

Lois A. Bowers was senior editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long-Term Living from 2013-2015.