Congress Proposes Bill to Expand Medicare Coverage for Nursing Home Care After Hospital Stays
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
This bill amends the Social Security Act (Title XVIII, which governs Medicare). While it doesn't change cash Social Security benefits, many Social Security recipients are also Medicare beneficiaries. Seniors on Social Security who need hospital and post-hospital nursing care would benefit from the expanded coverage rules, since observation days would now count toward the 3-day inpatient requirement for skilled nursing facility coverage.
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has reintroduced the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2025. The bill would update Medicare's 60-year-old three-day requirement by counting time spent in the hospital under observation status toward the threshold for nursing home coverage.
A study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that reinstating the Medicare 3-day rule led to longer hospital stays without reducing nursing home use. Advocates point to the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2025 as a solution to count observation days toward this requirement.
The Medicare 3-day rule requires a three-day inpatient stay for nursing home coverage. The rule is increasingly problematic due to 'observation status,' where hospitals treat patients as outpatients, leaving seniors with massive bills for follow-up care that Medicare refuses to cover.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2025
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