Reducing Harm to Medicare Beneficiaries - Improving Hospital Observation Status and Other Policies
Grant Summary
This project will raise visibility and diminish the negative impact of the “observation status” classification of older hospitalized adults through outreach and education by the Center for Medicare Advocacy (CMA). Observation status is a categorization of Medicare patients who are deemed to be outpatients rather than admitted inpatients in hospitals, even if their stay extends to multiple days. This status has profound consequences on patients’ quality and cost of care. Medicare coverage of often-needed post-acute care in a skilled nursing facility, for example, requires three inpatient hospital days. Over two years, CMA will gather existing resources and collect stories from beneficiaries, produce and update advocacy materials, and conduct extensive outreach and education that will result in 45,000 messages to policymakers to improve observation status policy through regulatory change, better federal guidance, and increased awareness by legislators. The grant funding for this project will also strengthen CMA’s advocacy on other important issues, including increasing access to oral health care for older adults.
Grant Details
Organization
Center for Medicare Advocacy
Grant Amount
$500,000
Grant Period
24 months
Approval Date
June 2016
Priority Area
Status
Closed
Primary Contact
Judith Stein, Esq.
jstein@medicareadvocacy.org
Program Officer
Marcus R. Escobedo, MPA
Location
Mansfield, Connecticut