Hospitals are invited to participate on a Dec. 21 call to share comments and concerns about the Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility Act (NOTICE Act).
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host the conference call at 2 pm ET to give hospitals an opportunity to comment on patient notification requirements in the law, which President Obama signed in August. The NOTICE Act requires hospitals to notify Medicare beneficiaries when outpatient observation services last longer than 24 hours, which could have implications for a patient’s out-of-pocket expenses. The observation status notification must be provided both orally and in writing, in plain language, within 36 hours of the start of services.
CMS will not respond to questions or comments on the call. Stakeholders are encouraged to also submit comments to Notice_Act@cms.hhs.gov. This is the dial-in information for the call:
- 1.800.837.1935
- Conference ID: 5106309
Contact Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
