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been a hospital inpatient (you were formally
admitted to the hospital after your doctor writes
an inpatient admission order) for at least 3 days
in a row (counting the day you were admitted as
an inpatient, but not counting the day of your
discharge).
• If you don’t have a 3-day inpatient hospital
stay and you need care after your discharge
from a hospital, ask if you can get care in other
settings (like home health care) or if any other
programs (like Medicaid or Veterans’ benefits)
can cover your SNF care. Always ask your doctor
or hospital staff if Medicare will cover your SNF
stay.
How would hospital observation
services affect my SNF coverage?
Your doctor may order “observation services” to
help decide whether you need to be admitted to
a hospital as an inpatient or can be discharged.
During the time you’re getting observation
services in a hospital, you’re considered an
outpatient. This means you can’t count this
time towards the 3-day inpatient hospital stay
needed for Medicare to cover your SNF stay.
For more information about Medicare services
visit www.medicare.gov/publications.
/publications