Some Medicare Patients Skipping Out Early from Hospitals

September 30, 2025

On a steady increase since 2006 and spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic, more Medicare patients have been leaving the hospital early against medical advice over the last few years, according to a recent report. Those who left early were more than twice as likely to be readmitted or die within 30 days than Medicare enrollees who were properly discharged home.

The report found that Medicare enrollees with mental health diagnoses were more likely to leave against medical advice compared to those without one. Medicare patients were also more likely to leave against medical advice at hospitals with lower star ratings – a measure of hospital quality.

Overall, it’s still a relatively rare occurrence with less than 1% of Medicare inpatient discharges leaving early.

If you’ve had a patient leave the hospital against medical advice, be sure to document that non-adherence in the medical record. Refusal to follow medical advice can present major risks to the patient’s health and without proper documentation, it also increases your exposure to professional liability. ISMIE’s resource on documentation has more information on the importance of complete, timely and thoughtful documentation.

If you have questions, please contact the Risk Management Division by email.