How do you know if you've been admitted to the hospital? It sounds like a trick question, but the murkiness surrounding the distinction between inpatient and outpatient status ? in both instances you might spend the night, or nights, in the hospital ? will be clarified with a law that takes effect July 1. Under legislation sponsored by state Sens. Dick Black, R-Loudoun County, and George Barker, D-Fairfax County, and passed this year in the General Assembly, patients in Virginia hospitals will be required to sign an acknowledgment that they understand that they are an outpatient, not an inpatient, when that status applies. The distinction has ramifications for billing and reimbursements, whether through Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance.
