After Missouri Seniors Tour, McCaskill Fulfills Promise by Holding Committee Hearing on Hospital Observation Status
Press Release
During a recent senior-focused tour across the state of Missouri, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill heard concerns and questions from Missourians about hospital use of "observation status," a designation that has grown dramatically in recent years. She promised Missourians who attended events on her tour that she would hold a hearing on the issue in the Senate Special Committee on Aging, where she is the lead Democrat. Today she fulfilled that promise.
McCaskill, who held her bipartisan hearing with Republican Chairman Susan Collins, focused her questions on how oversight of Medicare payments could be most effective while ensuring that patient care was not compromised.
"On my senior listening tour I stopped in big cities and small communities, and heard a lot about what seniors are struggling with in my state and the challenges that they face," McCaskill said. "One issue I heard at almost every stop was confusion and anger about the use of observation status."
In recent years, hospitals have increasingly placed Medicare patients "under observation" as opposed to admitting them--which has, in some cases, negatively affected patients. This problem has been further complicated by unclear government policies and audits designed to stamp out waste, which may have incentivized hospitals to overly rely on the use of observation status.
Testifying at the hearing was Sean Cavanaugh, from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Mark Miller, Executive Director of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; Jyortirmaya Nanda, of SSM Health; Spencer Young of Health Data Insights; and Tori Gaetani, RN, of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems.
McCaskill serves as the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Special Committee on Aging, a position from which she has investigated and explored scams targeting seniors, financial exploitation, the retirement security crisis, and Alzheimer's disease.
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