CMS Waives Three Day Stay Requirement during National Emergency

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Jeff Bostic

As part of the national emergency declaration in response to COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that they are waiving the three-day hospital stay requirement before a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Medicare A stay. 

On a recent national teleconference, CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced that this, and other waivers announced as part of the emergency, is a blanket waiver that applies nationwide from the date of the emergency declaration. 

Any client who meets Medicare coverage guidelines is eligible for coverage in a SNF without a three-day hospital stay. 

On the call, CMS indicated that this action has been taken to free up hospital capacity to deal with the CoOVID-19 outbreak, and they encouraged SNFs to take as many referrals as they can to keep hospital capacity available for those with the most acute needs.