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Podcast: A Health Podyssey
Episode: Sabrina Poon on the Controversial Two-Midnight Rule & Its Effects on Hospital Admissions
Description: Medical advances have enabled many people to be cared for appropriately in an outpatient setting rather than being admitted to a hospital.Yet, since Medicare payment rates are generally lower for outpatient visits than inpatient hospital stays, hospitals have a financial incentive to admit patients. Observing what were believed to be inappropriate admissions, in 2013 Medicare adopted the "two-midnight rule" stating that hospitals would only be paid inpatient rates if the patient was expected to stay in the hospital over two nights. The rule was controversial, but data show that it changed hospital visit behavior.<...