Long-term care hospitals are vital for patients in need of specialized post-acute care, but over 100 such hospitals have closed since 2016 due to low payments. That needs to change, Jim Prister, president and CEO of Chicago-based RML Specialty Hospital, said in a KFF Health News letter to the editor.
“Long-term care hospitals play a critical role in the nation’s health care system by providing complex, resource-intensive care to patients leaving acute-care hospitals but who still need sustained support and treatment,” Mr. Prister, who also serves as chair of the American Hospital Association’s Post-Acute Care Steering Committee, said. “Not only do long-term care hospitals help patients who are dependent on ventilation, have complex wounds, or have multiple organ failure, they also serve as a relief valve in our nation’s hospital system by helping free up beds and resources at general hospitals.”
Yet chronic underfunding leaves patients with fewer options and having to drive far from home to receive care.
Other barriers like prior authorization requirements for Medicare Advantage plans create delays that can harm patients who need time-sensitive care. Due to denials, many patients cannot get access to long-term care hospitals and must transfer to rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities that are not equipped to care for patients with highly complex needs.
This is a sign that Congress needs to implement changes in how long-term care hospitals are reimbursed.
“America’s sickest patients deserve the right level of care at the right time,” he said. “As this need becomes more urgent by the day, policymakers must work to address these challenges and strengthen access to long-term care hospitals, which help patients get transferred out of the hospital quicker, reduce hospital overcrowding and ultimately save lives.”
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