April 13, 2026 – A bunch of hospital stakeholders, together with the American Hospital Affiliation, the Federation of American Hospitals, the Nationwide Affiliation of Lengthy Time period Hospitals and the Coalition of Lengthy-Time period Acute-Care Hospitals, introduced the discharge of the Lengthy-Time period Acute Care Hospital (LTCH) Reform Coverage Ideas. The ideas are supposed to information and inform Congress as momentum grows to offer reduction for LTCHs and the sufferers they serve. As longer-term reforms are developed, the teams urge Congress to behave rapidly and enact laws that stabilizes the LTCH sector. With out well timed motion, extra LTCHs are prone to shut, additional limiting entry to the specialised care that LTCHs present to chronically and critically unwell sufferers.
LTCHs play a novel function within the care continuum by offering care to essentially the most severely unwell Medicare sufferers who require prolonged hospitalization. These specialty hospitals present a novel intensive degree of care that’s usually not out there in different post-acute care settings. Nonetheless, the present coverage atmosphere poses challenges for sufferers making an attempt to entry care and negatively impacts the monetary stability of the nation’s LTCHs.
The excellent set of coverage ideas addresses present challenges and supplies sustainable options to guard and strengthen healthcare supply within the LTCH sector, together with:
- Present entry for sure beneficiaries with excessive visibility by increasing fee standards
- Enhance the accuracy of the LTCH Medicare Potential Fee System (PPS)
- Contemplate altering the 25-day common size of keep (ALOS) requirement
- Restructure the LTCH outlier system
- Broaden rural entry to LTCHs
- Curb dangerous Medicare Benefit (MA) practices
Learn the total set of coverage ideas.
Additional studying: https://www.aha.org/press-releases/2026-04-13-hospital-stakeholders-release-long-term-acute-care-hospital-reform-policy-principles