Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2026

What This Bill Does

Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2026

This bill deems an individual receiving outpatient observation services in a hospital as an inpatient for purposes of satisfying the three-day inpatient hospital-stay requirement with respect to Medicare coverage of skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. (Generally, individuals must have been an inpatient at a hospital for at least three days in order to qualify for SNF services. An individual's time spent under observation at a hospital for purposes of determining whether the individual should be admitted does not count towards this requirement.)

Summary as of 05/21/2026, via Congress.gov / Congressional Research Service.

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