On the recordMarch 16, 2015
I thank the chairman for taking up this important piece of legislation today. I also want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) for his leadership on this issue. When seniors require a hospital stay, they are rightfully more concerned with their recovery than with understanding how the hospital classifies their status as a patient; but when that classification can impact future coverage of health care services related to their recovery, they deserve to be made aware of the potential ramifications. This act, the NOTICE Act, would require hospitals to provide meaningful written and oral notification to patients who are in the hospital under observation for more than 24 hours. This notice would alert the beneficiary or person acting on their behalf of the Medicare patient's admission status and the financial implications of that classification so he or she can advocate on their own behalf while in the hospital. No one should be caught off guard by a large medical bill just because they weren't aware of the status codes or the billing procedures. In a time of sickness and stress, families should focus on the recovery of their loved ones instead of dealing with the hidden costs due to lack of notice.
