Medicare Blog

what is medicare post acute care

by Khalil Kreiger Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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The Center for Medicare/Medicaid

Medicaid

Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with medical costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and personal care services. The Health Insurance As…

Services defines post-acute care as “care that is provided to individuals who need additional help recuperating from an acute illness or serious medical procedure.”

Post-acute care simply refers to medical services that you receive after a more serious illness or injury. The Medicare guidelines for inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient care include coverage for medically necessary post-acute services.

Full Answer

Does Medicare cover post acute care?

Typically, Medicare Part A pays for post-acute care, even if you get your services at home. Keep in mind that Medicare typically only pays up to 80% of the costs, after deductibles and copays. Rehabilitation services provided in post-acute care can typically include: Physical, occupational, and other kinds of therapy.

What does post acute mean in medical terms?

Acute care refers to health care provided for a life threatening condition. It often involves the use of life support or other intensive care services. The type of care provided after a period of acute care is known as post-acute care.

What is included in post acute rehab?

Subacute Rehab

  • Called “Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers, “Nursing Homes” or “Skilled Nursing Facilities”
  • A stand-alone facility
  • Monthly or weekly care by doctor or other clinician. Physician interaction usually occurs once or twice a week. ...
  • Less intense and less comprehensive therapy

What is post-acute care after a hospital stay?

Post-acute care refers to the care services you may receive when transitioning from a hospital stay. Not all people need additional services; some will need only follow-up with their primary care physicians .

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What does post-acute care include?

Post-acute care includes rehabilitation or palliative services that beneficiaries receive after or in some cases instead of, a stay in an acute care hospital. Depending on the intensity of care the patient requires, treatment may include a stay in a facility, ongoing outpatient therapy, or care provided at home.

What is Post-acute care CMS?

Post-acute care is care that is provided to individuals who need additional help recuperating from an acute illness or serious medical procedure.

Which of the following are examples of post-acute care?

Here are some examples of post-acute care services: Skilled nursing visits, physical therapy sessions, occupational therapy sessions, speech and language pathology evaluations or treatments, medical social worker support, personal care from nurses or aides.

What is post-acute inpatient care?

Post-Acute Care facilities provide services to patients to regain their strength and return home. Patients receive these services after hospitalization for surgery, injury, or illness. This acts as a bridge between the hospital and the next steps to recovery.

Which part of Medicare reimburses for post-acute care services?

Medicare Part AInformation on services and procedures provided to Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) beneficiaries by home health agencies, hospices, skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and long-term care hospitals.

What is the post-acute continuum?

The Post-Acute Care Continuum (PACC) Task Force is dedicated to focusing on the many legal issues raised within the post-acute care continuum setting, which includes skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, assisted living facilities, dementia units, brain injury units, continuing care retirement communities, ...

What is the difference between long term care assisted living care and acute care?

Medical professionals give individuals help with daily activities, medications and treatments. Long-term care for elderly people is generally about making their lives more comfortable than addressing acute, post-hospital conditions. Post-acute care focuses on those who need rehabilitation from a specific issue.

What is the difference between post-acute and subacute care?

Subacute care takes place after or instead of a stay in an acute care facility. Subacute care provides a specialized level of care to medically fragile patients, though often with a longer length of stay than acute care.

What is the difference between acute and long term care?

Most people who need inpatient hospital services are admitted to an “acute‑care” hospital for a relatively short stay. But some people may need a longer hospital stay. Long‑term care hospitals (LTCHs) are certified as acute‑care hospitals, but LTCHs focus on patients who, on average, stay more than 25 days.

What is the difference between acute care and rehab?

An acute condition is one that doesn't require extended hospitalization. Therefore, acute care therapy, which is specifically designed to treat acute conditions, is typically shorter than inpatient rehabilitation. Acute care therapy is often provided for those who need short-term assistance recovering from surgery.

What is post care?

Postoperative care is the care you receive after a surgical procedure. The type of postoperative care you need depends on the type of surgery you have, as well as your health history. It often includes pain management and wound care. Postoperative care begins immediately after surgery.

Is acute care the same as skilled nursing?

A skilled nursing facility is usually for patients who do not need the intensive level of care offered by a long-term acute care hospital but still require medical care and support before they can live on their own.

Breadcrumb

Medicare's Post-Acute Care Benefits: Background, Trends, and Issues to Be Faced

Trends in Utilization and Expenditures

Until very recently, Medicare payments for all types of post-acute care have been growing at 25- 35 percent a year, depending on the type of provider and exact time period covered. They are now declining but are still substantially higher than the roughly 8 percent annual growth that characterizes other parts of the Medicare program.

Changes in Provider Supply

Between 1990 and 1996, the supply of all major types of Medicare post-acute care providers experienced double-digit growth.

Medicare Eligibility and Coverage Policies

A major reason for the enormous expansion in post-acute care expenditures and supply has been changes in SNF and home health care eligibility and coverage guidelines, some of which were mandated by court decisions. The 1986 court ruling in Fox v.

Payment Reforms Mandated by the BBA

The BBA mandated establishment of prospective payment systems (PPS) for SNFs effective July 1998, home health care effective October 1999, and rehabilitation facilities effective October 2000. It also required that a PPS proposal be developed for long-term care hospitals by October 1999.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Post-Acute Care Users

The policy concern that Medicare may be paying different amounts to different types of post-acute care providers for patients with essentially similar care needs raises important questions: What is the extent of patient overlap? Are payments too high or too low for one type of provider relative to others, for a given quality of care? Most fundamental, what are the appropriate resource levels required to achieve desired outcomes for patients with particular needs?.

Unresolved Policy and Analytical Issues

The 1997 BBA provisions mandating PPS for Medicare's post-acute care benefit were an important policy response to the recent, rapid increases in post-acute care expenditures. The BBA provisions, however, are only part of a continuing process to reform Medicare's post-acute care services.

What is the benefit period for Medicare?

benefit period. The way that Original Medicare measures your use of hospital and skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. A benefit period begins the day you're admitted as an inpatient in a hospital or SNF. The benefit period ends when you haven't gotten any inpatient hospital care (or skilled care in a SNF) for 60 days in a row.

What is part A in rehabilitation?

Inpatient rehabilitation care. Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, care in a skilled nursing facility, hospice care, and some home health care. Health care services or supplies needed to diagnose or treat an illness, injury, condition, disease, or its symptoms and that meet accepted standards of medicine.

How long does it take to get into an inpatient rehab facility?

You’re admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility within 60 days of being discharged from a hospital.

Does Medicare cover private duty nursing?

Medicare doesn’t cover: Private duty nursing. A phone or television in your room. Personal items, like toothpaste, socks, or razors (except when a hospital provides them as part of your hospital admission pack). A private room, unless medically necessary.

Does Medicare cover outpatient care?

Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) Part B covers certain doctors' services, outpatient care, medical supplies, and preventive services.

Breadcrumb

Medicare's Post-Acute Care Benefits: Background, Trends, and Issues to Be Faced

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The escalating scale of expenditures for Medicare's post-acute care benefits--from about $2.5 billion in 1986 to more than $30 billion in 1996--has catalyzed concern among policy makers that use of these services has become excessive and does not necessarily improve the health of beneficiaries.

I. INTRODUCTION

Medicare, which insures over 38 million elderly and disabled people, provides coverage for beneficiaries to access physician, hospital, skilled nursing facility (SNF), home health, hospice, and various therapy services, as well as medical equipment.

II. TRENDS IN UTILIZATION AND EXPENDITURES

The rapid growth in post-acute care expenditures, which has slowed down very recently but is still substantially higher than the 8 percent annual growth rates averaged by other parts of Medicare, characterized all types of post-acute providers, and has substantially changed the distribution of total Medicare spending.

III. MEDICARE POLICIES FOR POST-ACUTE CARE

Although the immediate cause of the dramatically increased Medicare spending for post-acute care is increased use, a major underlying reason is modification in the policies governing Medicare post-acute benefits.

IV. THE SUPPLY AND REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF POST-ACUTE CARE PROVIDERS

The enormous increase in the supply of all types of post-acute care providers has already been noted. In this section, we provide more detail on this increase in supply, followed by a discussion of the regional distribution of provider types and their use.

V. CHARACTERISTICS AND OUTCOMES OF POST-ACUTE CARE USERS

The policy concern that Medicare may be paying different types of post-acute care providers differently for patients with similar conditions raises important questions. The first is how extensive the patient overlap is among the different types of providers.

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