3-Day Hospital Stay Rule Waived for SNF Transfers During the National Emergency

On the heels of the declaration of a national emergency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is waiving the requirement that Medicare beneficiaries must spend at least three days in a hospital before qualifying for coverage in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) for those beneficiaries who need to be transferred as a result of a disaster or emergency. 

In addition, CMS states that “for certain beneficiaries who recently exhausted their SNF benefits,” SNF coverage will be renewed without first having to start a new benefit period.  

For more information see CMS’s “COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Health Care Providers Fact Sheet.”