The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently announced a number of Section 1135 waivers as part of their response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). This includes waiving the 3-day hospital inpatient requirement for Medicare to cover skilled nursing care.
CMS is waiving the requirement at Section 1812(f) of the Social Security Act for a 3-day prior
hospitalization for coverage of a skilled nursing facility (SNF) stay provides temporary
emergency coverage of (SNF services without a qualifying hospital stay, for those people
who need to be transferred as a result of the effect of a disaster or emergency. In addition,
for certain beneficiaries who recently exhausted their SNF benefits, it authorizes renewed
SNF coverage without first having to start a new benefit period.
Please see their handout, COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Health Care Providers Fact Sheet, for more information on all the waivers.
Also, the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) just released a plain-language fact sheet on COVID-19 prevention available in English and in Spanish. Please share widely.
