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Hospital Observation Can Turn Out to Be Costly

Posted by Nina Whitehurst | Dec 26, 2017 | 0 Comments

How you are classified in the hospital will make a big difference in Medicare coverage.

Medicare considers patients who are in the hospital "under observation" as outpatients and will not be covered, no matter how long they are actually in the hospital, according to The New York Times in "Under 'Observation' Some Hospital Patients Face Big Bills."

Elder law advocates have long pointed out that the rule is absurd.

The patient does not always get to choose what the hospital writes down in the file and the patient does not always know the importance of being formally admitted, instead of just being under observation.

There has never been a way for the patients to challenge their designations later, until now.

A judge in Connecticut has recently opened the door for legal challenges.

Reference: New York Times (Sep. 1, 2017) "Under 'Observation' Some Hospital Patients Face Big Bills."

About the Author

Nina Whitehurst

Attorney at Law Nina has been practicing law for over 30 years in the areas of estate planning, real estate and business law She is currently licensed in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Tennessee. Her Martindale-Hubbell attorney rating is the highest achievable: 5 stars in peer...

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