§ 422.620 Notifying enrollees of hospital discharge appeal rights.

(a) Applicability and scope. (1) For purposes of §§ 422.620 and 422.622, the term hospital is defined as any facility providing care at the inpatient hospital level, whether that care is short term or long term, acute or non acute, paid through a prospective payment system or other reimbursement basis, limited to specialty care or providing a broader spectrum of services. This definition also includes critical access hospitals.

(2) For purposes of §§ 422.620 and 422.622, a discharge is a formal release of an enrollee from an inpatient hospital.

(b) Advance written notice of hospital discharge rights. For all Medicare Advantage enrollees, hospitals must deliver valid, written notice of an enrollee's rights as a hospital inpatient including discharge appeal rights. The hospital must use a standardized notice, as specified by CMS, in accordance with the following procedures: