The number of days of care charged to a beneficiary for inpatient extended care services
is always in units of full days. A day begins at midnight and ends 24 hours later.
The midnight-to-midnight method is to be used in reporting days of care for beneficiaries,
even if the facility uses a different definition of day for statistical or other purposes.
A part of a day, including the day of admission, counts as a full day. However, the
day of discharge, death, or a day on which a patient begins a leave of absence is
not counted as a day. (Charges for ancillary services on the day of discharge, death,
or the day on which a patient begins a leave of absence are covered.) If admission
and discharge or death occur on the same day, the day is considered a day of admission
and counts as one inpatient day.