Hospitals Sue CMS Over `Two-Midnight’ Rule, Pay Cut Accompanying Regulation

In two related lawsuits filed April 14, the hospital industry challenged the Department of Health and Human Services’ “two-midnight” rule for inpatient admissions, which industry says imposes regulatory burdens that could compromise care for seniors.

The AHA’s lawsuits come after a series of administrative appeals directed at the two-midnight rule’s 0.2 percent Medicare reimbursement rate cut provision (18 HFRA 140, 2/19/14). The AHA General Counsel Melinda Hatton told Bloomberg BNA Jan. 24 that the administrative appeals to the two-midnight rule were a necessary first step leading up to the two complaints recently filed in federal court.

The so-called ...