In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has 

temporarily waived Medicare’s three-day hospitalization requirement for obtaining Skilled 

Nursing Facility (SNF) services in New York, but only in circumstances directly related to the 

emergency situation. 
 

The federal public health emergency declaration for New York State became effective Oct. 27, 

allowing a waiver of the three-day prior hospital stay requirement. However, CMS’s guidance 

limits application of the waiver to Medicare beneficiaries who: (1) were evacuated from a 

nursing home in the emergency area; (2) were discharged from a hospital (in the emergency or 

receiving locations) in order to provide care to more seriously ill patients; or (3) need SNF care 

as a result of the emergency, regardless of whether that individual was in a hospital or SNF 

prior to the disaster.
 

CMS guidance also indicates that providers must document in the medical record both the 

medical need for the SNF admission and how the admission was related to the crisis created by 

the declared public health emergency and its aftermath. Please contact us with any questions, 

and continue to visit our Hurricane Sandy Information and Updates webpage for more 

information.
 

Contact: Dan Heim, dheim@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8866