With Medicare looking to control costs, a controversial billing practice is on the rise. Seniors who spend days at a hospital without actually being admitted can be left with thousands of bills to pay, which are not covered by insurance. In more and more instances, a person enters a hospital under “observation,” rather than being admitted. This is true even when a person stays multiple nights in a hospital bed, receiving similar care to their neighbors, and for conditions such as a broken pelvis or chest pains. Because this person is under observation, rather than being admitted, Medicare is able to pay hospitals far less for comparable treatment. The trigger occurs because Medicare pays under Part A for someone admitted and Part B for someone under observation. Part B payments have been substantially reduced in recent years. Compounding this issue, Medicare is using a growing army of auditors who use…
Read More
