Overview
- Published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Feb. 9, 2026, the Brown University study reviewed more than 600,000 traditional Medicare hospitalizations from 2023.
- After reinstatement, the likelihood of an inpatient stay lasting at least three days rose by 1.13 percentage points overall and by 5.57 points for patients later discharged to skilled nursing facilities.
- The first month after reinstatement saw at least 2,000 additional hospital days, indicating the threshold itself influenced length of stay.
- Researchers found no significant changes in 30-day mortality, rehospitalizations, total skilled nursing days, Medicare spending, or discharge to skilled nursing, shifting added costs to hospitals.
- Created in 1965 and paused from March 2020 to May 2023, the rule no longer aligns with modern short stays; the team plans further work as congressional reforms have stalled and the study was funded by the National Institute on Aging.