Securing Access to Care for Seniors in Critical Condition Act of 2025
Key claim: HR1924 would exempt high-acuity long-term care hospital discharges from Medicare’s site-neutral payment rate beginning October 1, 2026.
Abstract
(HR1924 · 119th Congress) Securing Access to Care for Seniors in Critical Condition Act of 2025 This bill exempts discharges from long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) from the Medicare site-neutral payment rate if the discharge meets specified high acuity criteria and occurs on or after October 1, 2026. (The site-neutral rate is the lower of Medicare’s acute care hospital payment rate under the inpatient prospective payment system or 100% of the cost of the stay. LTCH stays that do not qualify for the specialized LTCH payment rate under Medicare are instead paid at the site-neutral rate.) Latest action (2025-03-06): Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Why this matters
Medicare’s site-neutral payment policy pays LTCHs at lower general acute-care rates for cases that don’t meet high-acuity criteria, and this bill would carve out additional high-acuity discharges from that reduction. If enacted, LTCHs would receive higher reimbursement for the exempted cases beginning October 1, 2026, potentially affecting access to specialized long-term hospital care for medically complex Medicare beneficiaries.