Staying in the hospital without being formally admitted can cost you thousands of dollars. Under the rules, Medicare picks up the whole tab for the first 20 days of skilled nursing for rehab or other care in an approved facility, but only if someone has spent at least three full days in the hospital as an admitted patient. If, instead, a patient has been under observation — for all or part of that time — he or she is responsible for the entire cost of rehab.
AARP
“Medicare: Inpatient or Outpatient?”
August 24, 2012
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