Long-term care hospitals

The number of long-term care hospitals in the U.S. is falling fast. According to hospital industry sources, more than a quarter of all long-term care hospitals – commonly referred to as LTCHs – have closed over the past decade. Among the reasons for all the closings, according to those same sources, are low Medicare payments; Medicare site-neutral payment policies that limit the kinds of patients for which LTCHs can receive full, LTCH-level payments and not lower reimbursement; and the refusal of some Medicare Advantage plans to include LTCHs in their provider networks. LTCHs traditionally provide acute-care services to patients who [...]