Send Congress a Bill to eliminate the observation status for Medicare beneficiaries and then work to pass it.

Observation status is being used for Medicare patients in hospitals, making them outpatients rather than inpatients. There are dire financial consequences, including: facing higher hospital bills because of being covered by Part B rather than Part A, and losing Medicare coverage for skilled nursing care because of not having three hospital days as an inpatient. There has been a drastic increase of observation status patients in recent years. Many elderly Americans have faced bills in the tens of thousands of dollars. A great many find themselves in hospitals but not knowing that they are in the observation status category. A great many are in this category for many more than the two days most appropriate for this reduced Medicare coverage. Time to eliminate observation status.