Medicare-Related COVID-19 Changes - Medicare Part A

Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs)

The 3-day inpatient hospital stay requirement for Part A SNF coverage has been waived; regardless of whether the care the beneficiary requires has a direct relationship to COVID-19.

SNF benefits for residents who have exhausted Part A benefits are extended for another 100 days if there is any arguable nexus to the Public Health Emergency. (The 100 day coverage limit is waived.) – CMS rules conflict, however, regarding whether the waiver must be related to COVID-19.

For more information, here is the website: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/fiscal-year-2021-proposed-medicare-payment-and-policy-changes-skilled-nursing-facilities-cms-1737-p

https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/skilled-nursing-facility-snf-care

Asymptomatic and Presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Residents of a Long-Term Care Skilled Nursing Facility — King County, Washington, March 2020

More information: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6913e1.htm