The division shall treat admissions to acute care hospitals and chronic disease or rehabilitation hospitals as equivalent for purposes of reimbursing nursing homes to reserve beds for medical assistance recipients during brief absences from nursing homes by such recipients to obtain hospital care.
In the event that a nursing facility resident who is age 22 years or under and is a MassHealth recipient leaves the nursing facility for non-medical reasons, the facility shall preserve his bed for a period of up to 10 calendar days per year and the division shall pay to preserve his bed in the facility for a period of up to 10 calendar days per year.