Medicare would pay hospital outpatient rates for mobile stroke care

Medicare would pay for eligible mobile stroke care as care at the hospital’s on-campus outpatient department. The rule would cover hospital-operated mobile units that diagnose, assess, or treat symptoms of a sudden stroke. The care must qualify for coverage when provided in a hospital outpatient department. This payment would replace any other payment for the same care under the same part of Medicare.

Medicare would pay 5% more for eligible care when a mobile stroke unit meets an ambulance. The hospital-operated unit must meet the patient between the ambulance trip’s starting point and destination to provide care sooner. The care must qualify for Medicare coverage in a hospital outpatient department. Care must occur in a rural area, or the patient’s ambulance trip must have started in one.

Medicare would exclude the covered mobile stroke care from hospital inpatient operating costs. The exclusion would cover hospital-operated mobile units’ care to diagnose, assess, or treat symptoms of a sudden stroke. The care must qualify for coverage when provided in a hospital outpatient department.