Medicare’s payment formula

To no one’s surprise, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has extended its enforcement delay for the widely hated (by hospital executives) “two-midnight” rule governing short hospital stays to fall in line with recently proposed changes to the policy.

As Modern Healthcare noted, “The agency proposed in July that the rule be modified to allow physicians to exercise judgment to admit patients for short stays on a case-by-case basis. An enforcement delay, passed by Congress in legislation replacing Medicare’s payment formula for doctors, was set to expire on Sept. 30.”

Instead, CMS will extend the delay through the end of this year.