Upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, among the many documents that a resident has to read and sign should be an official document informing the resident of the facility’s bed-hold policy. The facility’s particular bed-hold policy should correspond with the state and federal regulations that give residents the right to have their own bed held for seven days while they are in the hospital. This applies to both Medi-Cal and private pay residents, the only difference being that private pay residents are responsible for paying for those seven days that they are out of the facility. The days are counted from the day the resident leaves the facility and signs a bed-hold notice. The day the resident returns to the facility is not counted as a bed-hold day (Cal. Code of Regulations, Title 22 § 51535.1(c)(3)).

After seven days, the facility may give that resident’s bed away to a new resident in need. However, Medi-Cal residents have the right to the first available bed in the facility when they are ready to return. Private pay residents also have this right if the facility fails to notify them of their bed-hold rights. Facilities will often try to get away with refusing readmission to Medi-Cal residents. This is informally called “hospital dumping” and is against the law. All residents have the right to appeal when readmission is denied.

In addition to including information about bed-hold policies in the admissions agreement, the facility must give a written bed-hold notice to the resident and/or the resident’s family upon being transferred to the hospital, as is required by both federal law and state regulations (CCR Title 22 § 72520(b) & 42 C.F.R. §483.15(d) & (e)(1)(i)) If the resident returns to the facility within the seven days, he/she should return to the same room and same bed, without having to sign new admission agreements. Signing new contracts or rules should never be a condition of readmission for the resident.

Page Last Modified: May 30, 2018