As a result of the Weichardt v. Leavitt class action lawsuit, CMS proposed that hospitals and Medicare Advantage plans deliver a new advance notice of discharge to Medicare beneficiaries who are receiving inpatient hospital services. In response to public comments, CMS set forth a final rule, CMS-4105-F, for how hospitals must notify Medicare beneficiaries who are hospital inpatients about their hospital discharge rights. Notice is required both for original Medicare beneficiaries and for beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans and other Medicare health plans subject to the MA regulations. Under the final rule, hospitals will use a revised version of the Important Message from Medicare (IM), an existing statutorily required notice, to explain the discharge rights. Hospitals must issue the IM within two days of admission, and must obtain the signature of the beneficiary or his or her representative. Hospitals generally must also deliver a copy of the signed notice to each beneficiary not more than two days before the day of discharge. This notice fulfills the regulatory requirement.
The currently approved burden involves hospital delivery of the IM without a signature, at 1 minute per beneficiary, to an estimated 12.5 million admitted Medicare beneficiaries annually. As a result of the Weichardt v. Leavitt class action lawsuit, CMS set forth a final rule, CMS-4105-F, requiring hospitals to issue the IM to the currently estimated 13 million admitted Medicare beneficiaries annually within two days of admission, and obtain the signature of the beneficiary or his or her representative. Furthermore, for longer stays, hospitals will have to deliver a copy of the signed IM within two days of discharge to an estimated 7.8 million of those beneficiaries. Therefore, hospitals will need an extra 14 minutes on average to deliver the IM to 500,000 more beneficiaries. Please see Part II for the comparative and aggregate data.
$0
No
No
Uncollected
Uncollected
Uncollected
Uncollected
Saleda Perryman
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
CMS-4105-FINAL RULE Qs and As 04 03 07.doc
CMS-R-193 Comments #47 and #48.pdf
Late CMS-R-193 Comment #26.txt
Medicare and Medicare Advantage Programs; Notification Procedures for Hospital Discharges : Important Message From Medicare