McKnight's December 7, 2021
Given the prospect of looming Medicare insolvency, COVID-era waivers that made it easier for hospitals to discharge patients to skilled nursing and other post-acute settings should be revoked, Medicare expert Lisa Grabert and David Grabowski, professor of healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School, said Monday.
The authors recommended ending the use of such waivers once the public health emergency declaration expires, explaining that extra costs associated with their use have threatened Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund through direct spending of Medicare Part A resources.
“The waiver of these post-acute care rules successfully eased overcrowding in STACHs (short-term acute care hospitals) during a period of acute need, but the question remains as to whether these waivers should be made permanent,” they...
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