Recovery Auditors will Delay Scrutiny of ‘two-midnight’ Rule
On September 26, 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that government recovery auditors will delay scrutiny of short inpatient stays for 90 days while providers get acclimated to the new policy. Recovery auditor contractors have been told by CMS that they will not be allowed to question the medical necessity of inpatient claims lasting a day or less between October 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013. The two-midnights rule says that hospital stays that last two days—defined as a stay that spans at least two midnights—are presumed to be legitimate uses of inpatient care and will