BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SJR 8|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SJR 8
Author: Hernandez (D)
Introduced:5/7/15
Vote: 21
SUBJECT: Medicare: observation status
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution urges the Congress and the President of
the United States to reform the short stay admissions criteria
for Medicare beneficiaries and to discontinue the two-midnight
policy.
ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1)The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services set
rules for hospital stays for Medicare beneficiaries.
2)The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services'
guidelines state that patients are not to be formally admitted
as a hospital inpatient unless the physician expects the
patient's condition to warrant a stay of at least two nights.
3)This "two midnight" determination creates arbitrary decisions
for hospital admissions that are not based on the clinical
condition of the patient but rather an expected length of
stay.
SJR 8
Page 2
4)The two-midnight policy has caused many seniors to be kept in
"observation status" without formal admission as a hospital
inpatient.
5)Medicare will not pay for skilled nursing facility care unless
a senior has been admitted as a hospital inpatient for at
least three days.
6)The observation policy, which resulted from the federal
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' guidelines, has
denied seniors the appropriate criteria for admission to
skilled nursing facilities because time spent in "observation
status" does not count as a qualifying hospital admission.
This resolution urges the Congress and the President of the
United States to reform the short stay admissions criteria to
more accurately reflect the clinical needs of a patient as
determined by a physician and to discontinue the two-midnight
policy that is currently in place.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified5/21/15)
LeadingAge California
Tenet Healthcare
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/21/15)
None received
SJR 8
Page 3
Prepared by: Karen Chow / SFA / (916) 651-1520
5/26/15 11:35:13
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