Restrictions on what Medicaid and Medicare will cover for nursing home patients can often lead to unnecessary hospitalizations – an estimated $8 billion in unnecessary hospitalizations each year, in fact.

For example, a nursing home patient would be hospitalized for a common ailment such as pneumonia or a skin ulcer in order to have their treatment covered. In that case, Medicaid and Medicare will pay extra for hospital visits, but not nursing home care. But a program through the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid aims to cut down on those unnecessary hospital visits.