A new report by the Office of the Inspector General questions whether changing the observation care stay rules for hospitals would actually work. Among the issues raised in the report is whether providers can even distinguish between observation and non-observation care status. Hospitals are pushing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to make it easier to receive payment for observation care patients if they're subjected to clawbacks as part of a RAC audit. Meanwhile, patients are pushing for Medicare to cover nursing home costs if observation care patients are transferred to skilled nursing facilities without an inpatient admission by the hospital. Article