Princess, I completely agree with you. Our tendency to "feel too much too soon" often gets us into trouble.
I don't remember not going to skilled nursing was ever an option with my wife. Maybe we never asked. The benefits of being there far outweighed the inconvenience. But then, once she was home it was up to me or later my daughter, son-in-law and me to insure her temporary reprise. Thank goodness the last three weeks after she decided to stop dialysis we had unending assistance from the wonderful folks at hospice. Otherwise, I'd probably be in a mental institution now.
It's been over two years since she passed and it feels like it was yesterday. She was my angel.
Assuming she was on Medicare, after 3 consecutive in-patient days in the hospital, she should've been eligible. Who's eligible?
People with Medicare are covered if they meet all of these conditions:
You have Part A and have days left in your benefit period.
You have a qualifying hospital stay.
Your doctor has decided that you need daily skilled care given by, or under the direct supervision of, skilled nursing or therapy staff. If you're in the SNF for skilled rehabilitation services only, your care is considered daily care even if these therapy services are offered just 5 or 6 days a week, as long as you need and get the therapy services each day they're offered.
You get these skilled services in a SNF that's certified by Medicare.
You need these skilled services for a medical condition that was either:
A hospital-related medical condition.
A condition that started while you were getting care in the skilled nursing facility for a hospital-related medical condition.
Your doctor may order observation services to help decide whether you need to be admitted to the hospital as an inpatient or can be discharged. During the time you're getting observation services in the hospital, you're considered an outpatient—you can't count this time towards the 3-day inpatient hospital stay needed for Medicare to cover your SNF stay.
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/skilled-nursing-facility-care.html#2956