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Tip Sheets
Nursing Home Bed Hold Policy
Federal and state regulations provide
that nursing facilities are required to offer a resident who
leaves the nursing home for care in another institution or
for therapeutic leave the opportunity to have her/his bed
held for her/his return. Following are some specifics on
those regulations.
Under what circumstances must a
facility keep my bed available for me when I leave the
nursing home?
When you leave the nursing home to enter
a hospital or when you take therapeutic leave for a
home visit or a vacation, the nursing home is required to
provide written information to you about its bed hold policy
before you leave. You have the right to request the
nursing home hold your bed but you must make this decision before
you leave the nursing home.
Please note: If you are discharged
– rather than transferred or taking therapeutic leave –
you do not have the right to have your bed held.
Discharge is defined as "moving the
resident to a non-institutional setting when the releasing
facility ceases to be responsible for a resident’s
cares." You have the right to appeal a discharge if you
wish to remain in the nursing home. Contact an ombudsman for
more information about your discharge rights.
Is there a cost involved in having my
bed held for my return?
Yes. As a general rule, your nursing home
may charge 60% of your daily rate for each day your bed is
held for you. The bed hold charge is not permitted in a
facility of 25 or more beds when occupancy is less than 93%
during the month of the leave or, in a smaller facility, if
a licensed bed has been vacant for 60 consecutive days
before the leave.
Please note: If you are a new resident in the
facility and have not lived there at least 30 days, you may
be charged an additional 20% which is the standard enhanced
rate for residents during their first month of occupancy.
The Minnesota legislature approved this additional charge
because new residents typically require special attention
upon moving into the facility.
Medical Assistance (MA) covers my nursing home
expenses. Will MA pay to hold my bed?
Yes, but there are restrictions. Payment
by Medical Assistance (MA) for a hospital leave is limited
to 18 consecutive days for each "separate and distinct
episode" of medically necessary hospitalization.
To qualify as a "separate and
distinct" event, three factors are necessary:
- the hospitalization must be for an emergency;
- the health condition that requires hospitalization may
not be related to a previous hospitalization or
have been evident at the time of the last discharge; and
- at least two calendar days must have elapsed since the
last hospitalization.
MA payment for therapeutic leave is
limited to 36 leave days per calendar year. Therapeutic
leave includes leave for a home visit or a vacation.
How are leave days computed?
An overnight absence of more than 23
hours is considered a leave day. An absence of less than 23
hours on the first day is not considered a leave day.
After the first 23 hours, each time the clock passes
midnight is counted as an additional leave day.
What happens when I have used up my
leave days?
When you have used up your MA leave days,
you or your family may pay for additional days if the
facility offers this service. The decision to offer this
service is discretionary on the part of the facility.
Please note that Minnesota law requires
that the facility must provide a 30-day written
notice to you before you can be discharged. This means that
once you have used up your leave days, you will have 30 days
to make other arrangements for your care. You also have the
right to appeal the nursing home decision to discharge you.
For more information about bed holds,
please call the
Office of Ombudsman for Older Minnesotans
toll-free
at 800-657-3591 or 651-431-2555. |
