NURSING HOME BED HOLD POLICY

When a Nursing Home ( a "Facility") transfers a patient to a hospital or allows a resident to go on therapeutic leave, the Facility must give written notice to the patient and to a family member which sets forth:

1. The Facility's policy re bed-hold under the Medicaid plan;
   
   
2. The written plan of the Facility to allow a resident to return to the Facility when the period of time that the patient is out of the Facility exceeds the bed-hold policy. A patient who has remained outside of the Facility beyond the bed-hold period must be allowed to return to the Facility immediately on the availability of a bed in a semi-private room.

What is important is that the Facility must maintain identical policies re transfer, discharge and the provision of services under the Medicaid plan regardless of the source of payment.

Under Medicaid rules, the facility must have a bed hold policy if a Medicaid recipient has been a resident of the facility for at least 30 days. Generally Medicaid will pay for a bed hold for 20 days. If the resident needs hospitalization for a longer period, then the nursing home can use the bed for another patient but must make the first bed available to the person whose bed was given up to another.