CMS adjusts CAH 96-hour calculation for COVID-19 PHE waiver period

Posted on: 6/16/23

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will make a one-time adjustment to the 96-hour average annual patient length-of-stay requirement for critical access hospitals in the Medicare program to account for its blanket waiver of the requirement during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), the agency announced last week. The agency has instructed Medicare Administrative Contractors to resume calculating the 96-hour average with the first cost reporting period starting after the end of the PHE. (AHA Today, June 9, 2023)