LeadingAge joined a broad coalition of health care providers and advocates in sending letters to two Congressional committees on September 18 expressing support for the passage of H.R. 5138, the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act.

Introduced on August 4 by U.S. Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT), Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA), Susan DelBene (D-WA), and Ron Estes (R-KS), this bill would make days spent in the hospital under observation status count towards Medicare’s three-day inpatient stay requirement for skilled nursing facility coverage.

These letters were sent to the two committees with jurisdiction over the bill: the House Committees on Ways and Means on Energy and Commerce Committee.  The two letters are available here and here.