Feb. 20, 2019

Bill Would Expand Critical Access Hospital Swing Bed Use

On February 19, 2019 by Jeff Bostic

A bill to dramatically expand authorized critical access swing bed admissions has been introduced in the Minnesota House. The bill,  introduced by Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL-Rochester), would modify the authorized swing bed admissions from 2,000 bed days per year to 9,125 per year. We understand that a companion to this bill will be introduced in the Minnesota Senate in the coming days. LeadingAge Minnesota and the Long-Term Care Imperative oppose this legislation. 

Current data provided by the Minnesota Hospital Association shows that most critical access hospitals fall far below the current swing bed limit. The average swing bed hospital used a little over 800 swing bed days in 2017.  In that year, eight of the 76 hospitals with swing beds were over the limit of 2,000 days. Of those, half are already exempt from the limit due to being attached to a nursing facility.

The proposed expansion of swing bed usage would remove incentives to coordinate discharges to lower cost post-acute care settings in patients’ home communities. Because swing beds are paid cost-based rates under the Medicare program, swing bed days typically cost Medicare about three times as much as a nursing facility stay.  

This bill has strong support and it is very likely to move forward this legislative session. Lawmakers need to understand how this dramatic expansion of swing beds will affect care center members. We ask care center members to contact your lawmakers to share your concerns and will be inviting you to participate in additional grassroots advocacy on this important matter. We also encourage you to register for our Day at the Capitol on March 12 where we will be raising our concerns and opposition to this bill with lawmakers.