U.S. Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT), Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA), Susan DelBene (D-WA), and Ron Estes (R-KS) on June 12, reintroduced H.R. 3954, the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2025, to address the three-day qualifying hospital stay requirement to receive post-acute care in a skilled nursing facility.

Under current law, a beneficiary enrolled in traditional Medicare must have an “inpatient” hospital stay of at least three days in order to qualify for post-hospitalization skilled nursing care. Patients treated in a hospital under “observation status” or an “observation stay” do not qualify for this benefit, even if their hospital stay lasts longer than three days.

This legislation would allow patients who spend three days in a hospital, regardless of inpatient or observation designation, to receive coverage under traditional Medicare for post-acute skilled nursing services.  The same requirement does not apply to Medicare Advantage plans and certain Accountable Care Organizations.

LeadingAge is continuing to work with its coalition partners to advance this bill, which is key to addressing the three-day stay requirement that was waived during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.