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Failure to understand you are just visiting the hospital or there for a stay can bankrupt you.
Over the last three days, I did two presentations to various groups. I always talk about making sure that you understand that there is a difference between being "admitted" to the hospital as opposed to being "under observation," for purposes of getting Medicare to pay for a post hospital rehabilitation stint at a nursing home.
If you are "under observation," even if it is for three days, Medicare will not pay for your post- hospital rehabilitation. You must be "admitted."
At my presentation yesterday, a woman brought an AARP article to my attention that she thought extended t his to 8 days. However, I could not find it.
If you have this article or can substantiate this please let me know. What I did find was the article whose link is below. You can click on this and find a great explanation of what it takes to get coverage should you go to a hospital and need rehabilitation.
Here is a real life example, of how important a three day stay is: I had a man call me from Northern California who told me that his 96 year old mother was discharged from the hospital in two days after breaking her pelvis.
The hospital told him that she would only need a couple of days of rehabilitation. Two weeks into the rehabilitation (with at least another two to go) and $4500.00 later, the son wondered how and why the hospital would have done this to his family.
This failure to "admit" also impacts the cost of prescription drugs. If you are not "admitted" your stay will be billed to Medicare Part B which covers doctors' services and outpatient care, under which prescription drugs that you need during your outpatient stint will not be covered.
(click here to link to rest of article)
