Statement on Medicare Observation Status

In a statement submitted to the Senate Special Committee on Aging dated August 8, 2014, the National Senior Citizens Center throws its support behind the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2013 (H.R. 1179/S. 569).  The bill would “protect consumers from harm caused by this often arbitrary and overused practice.” Observation status forces Medicare beneficiaries to face sometimes severe financial hardship when hospitals bill charges as outpatient versus inpatient when people have actually been hospitalized.