WHEREAS, The Medicare program was signed into law on July 30,
1965; and
WHEREAS, In the first six months of the Medicare program, 2.5
million Americans benefited from Medicare-covered hospital care;
and
WHEREAS, As of December 2022, there are more than 2.8 million
Pennsylvanians enrolled in Medicare; and
WHEREAS, An individual who has suffered from a serious
illness, such as a stroke, surgery or extensive treatment for a
heart or respiratory condition, may need skilled nursing care
after the individual has been hospitalized; and
WHEREAS, Moreover, the individual may need close monitoring,
additional care, physical therapy or occupational therapy, which
can be provided in a skilled nursing facility; and
WHEREAS, In order to receive skilled nursing extended care
services coverage, Medicare patients must meet the Skilled
Nursing Three-Day Rule; and
WHEREAS, The Skilled Nursing Facility Three-Day Rule requires
an individual to be admitted as an inpatient for three
consecutive days in order to qualify for admittance to a skilled
nursing facility; and
WHEREAS, A hospital is able to count the admission day for a
patient, but not the discharge day; and
WHEREAS, The day a patient is transferred to the skilled
nursing facility also does not count toward the three-day rule;
and
WHEREAS, Medicare does not allow a health care provider or
hospital to change orders, which means if an individual stays in
the hospital for more than two midnights, those days cannot be
converted to inpatient status after the days have occurred; and
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