Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2026

Right now, Medicare only covers care at a skilled nursing facility if a person has spent at least three days as an official inpatient at a hospital. Time spent at a hospital under "observation status," where doctors are deciding whether to formally admit the patient, does not count toward those three days. This bill would change that by counting time spent under observation at a hospital as inpatient time, making it easier for people to meet the three-day requirement and qualify for Medicare coverage of skilled nursing facility care.

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