Coronavirus (COVID-19) Changes to Rehab Admissions

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has caused the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to make rapid (temporary) changes to their policies for subacute rehabilitation admissions for individuals going into the hospital. These changes may be an opportunity for your loved one to get the care that they need and have previously been unable to get.

Please see this link for the technical details, but in summary Medicare is allowing for rehab stays for people who do not stay in the hospital for the normal three-overnight “qualifying stay.” Medicare is also allowing rehabilitation stays to trigger an additional 100 days of rehab under Medicare Part A (with the familiar payment terms – no copay for the first 20 days, a copay for the 80 remaining days which may or may not be covered if you have a supplemental insurance plan) even if there is not a sixty-day break in the “spell of illness” in a nursing home, or home setting.

What does this mean to you? In short, you may have an opportunity to extend or utilize Medicare subacute rehabilitation benefits in a way that did not exist even just a week ago. A short hospital stay might be able to lead to a subacute rehabilitation stay, opening up time and options for the care of a loved one in a crisis situation. Much as we hate to promote or emphasize fear in our practice, this environment is very much a crisis situation. Let's say that due to visitation restrictions, you can't see your loved one in the hospital or nursing home. You're being told they can't stay there anymore and need to move right away. You don't know how to evaluate your options.  Now what?

Many hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted livings are restricting or stopping all visitation in the buildings for the foreseeable future. You may find yourself unable to tour a facility to make a choice for your loved one. These places still accept admissions, but how can you know which place is the right fit for your loved one if you can't go see it? What if you need emergency estate planning but you can't get in the building? You need an expert with experience.

Our Senior Living Resources team has the skills and resources necessary to assist those transitioning into long term care facilities. Our firm has the relationships and creativity required to fashion a customized solution for any emergent legal problem you may encounter in the weeks and months ahead. Feel free to give us a call at 609-842-9200 (or a Facebook message) so we can start the conversation.