S4641Referred to Committee

A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to count a period of receipt of outpatient observation services in a hospital toward satisfying the 3-day inpatient hospital requirement for coverage of skilled nursing facility services under Medicare.

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-05-21
Introduced
2
Cosponsors
S
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Susan M. Collins
Susan M. Collins
Republican · ME · Senator
Votes with party: 25.0% (324 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/C001035

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (2)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

2026-05-21

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Plain-English Summary

Medicare currently requires seniors to spend at least 3 days as an inpatient in a hospital before they can qualify for coverage of skilled nursing facility care, but this bill would allow time spent receiving observation services in a hospital outpatient department to count toward that 3-day requirement. This change would help Medicare beneficiaries who receive extended observation care qualify for nursing home coverage without having to be formally admitted as inpatients, potentially reducing out-of-pocket costs for seniors needing post-hospital care.

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