One Medicare rule may be better broken. The rule that requires patients to spend at least three days in a hospital to become eligible for skilled nursing care coverage may not benefit patients, according to a new study published in the journal Health Affairs.
Providence, R.I.-based Brown University researchers found that, between 2006 and 2010, the average time in the hospital per year increased by half a day among more than 140,000 people across 14 Medicare Advantage plans that never waived the rule. However, patients across 14 plans that did waive the rule spent 0.2 fewer days in hospital.
That 10 percent relative reduction likely saved money and also had patients moving to the next phase of recovery more quickly, decreasing risk of hospital-acquired complications, according to the study.