Robert Gatty
Robert Gatty has more than 40 years of experience in journalism, politics and business communications and is the founder and president of G-Net Strategic Communications based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He can be reached at bob@gattyedits.com.
MedPAC targets Medicare payments to SNFs
With margins averaging 18.5 percent in 2010, MedPAC contends SNFs are making a killing on Medicare. Under the proposed rebasing plan, there would be a zero update in 2013, followed by an initial reduction of four percent in 2014. Read More » Long-term care seen better days?
Already faced with the prospect of absorbing $127 billion in Medicare funding reductions through 2021, the long-term care industry may find itself confronted with even more strife in the year ahead. Read More » Revisions to ACO rule encourage provider participation
Bob Gatty Now that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its final and revised rule for accountable care organizations Read More » One-two punch: CLASS demise and budget cuts
Bob Gatty The hits from Washington keep coming for the LTC industry, already reeling from a series of Medicare and Medicaid cuts, and now facing Read More » Employers fight proposed union election timelines
Bob Gatty Business organizations, including representatives of the long-term care industry, have mobilized to fight a proposed new regulation from Read More » Final rule cuts deep
Bob Gatty The long-term care industry is now facing an 11.1 percent Medicare payment reduction to SNFs for 2012 in new rates to be implemented Read More » Aligning benefits for dual eligibles
Directed by provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the new health reform law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched a Read More » CMS considers $4 billion SNF payment reduction
Bob Gatty Since last October, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) have been paid by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at an Read More » A look behind the headlines
Bob Gatty With so much effort underway in state capitals from Wisconsin to Florida to slash spending and close budget deficits, including efforts Read More » Spending cuts loom for Medicare/Medicaid
With the pressure on Washington to slash federal spending, the long-term care community can expect to face its share of the pain, and Read More » LTC protests therapy payment policy
Bob Gatty The long-term care (LTC) community is up in arms about a new Medicare policy for paying for therapy services, which industry Read More » Feds question SNF billing and payment practices
Two reports by federal health investigators have raised questions about billing practices at skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for therapy Read More » Regulatory reprieve
When the lame duck Congress last month gave a one-year reprieve to Medicare doctors who were facing a 25% payment cut this month, it also overturned Read More » Feds crackdown on healthcare fraud
The U.S. government is strengthening its crackdown on practitioners who scam federal healthcare programs, with new muscle provided by the 2010 Read More » Health reform ‘triggers concerns’
The other day I had lunch with the CEO of a chain of nursing homes, and over crab cakes and salads, he brought up a news story about McDonald's Read More » For Medicaid, relief is on the way
State officials across the nation are now preparing for a continuing infusion of additional Medicaid money as a result of Congressional passage of Read More » Consumer protection and CCRCs
Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) have attracted the attention of the federal government and two parallel investigations of the Read More » Popular support opposes funding cuts
At a glance… A groundswell of public opposition to any cuts affecting the nation's elderly have many in Congress scrambling to find less Read More » Bill would enforce IOM oversight of state of care
At a glance… Legislation has been introduced that would require the Institutes of Medicine to review care at nursing homes as well as the federal Read More » McClellan to forge new foundation for CAST
At a glance… Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, the new chairman of the CAST Commission, will try to lay the foundation for a better understanding of how Read More » Medicare, Medicaid funding cuts battle continues
At a glance… Two lawmakers urge their colleagues to protect Medicare and Medicaid from additional cuts in the government's 2011 budget. While Read More » Medicaid funding teetering on ‘fiscal cliff’
At a glance… State Medicaid program and reimbursement levels are in jeopardy of significant reductions as the continued economic downturn fuels Read More » ‘Temporary management’ imposed on inadequate facilities
A government watchdog agency is recommending that federal officials take steps to use existing authority to impose temporary management on Read More » Maintaining Medicare funding ‘literal lifeline’
At a glance… Analysis by Eljay, LLC, says the actual cost of providing nursing home care will be underfunded by Medicaid by nearly $4.7 billion for Read More » CLASS Act provisions (hopefully) in final health reform
At a glance… There is a good chance that the ultimate healthcare reform bill to be considered by Congress will include provisions designed to Read More » House healthcare reform bill includes LTC provisions
While long-term living facilities may face some challenges as a result of eventual healthcare reform legislation, two provisions in the Read More » Two views: The quality question
At a glance… Bob Gatty highlights two reports on the state of quality in long-term care. Industry lobbyists, intent on blocking proposed Medicare Read More » Attorneys general recommend Five-Star overhaul
As nursing home interests in Washington continue to battle proposed Medicare cuts to help finance healthcare reform, they also have tackled another Read More » Medicare funding cuts a game-changer
Organizations representing skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are warning that the potential impact of proposed Medicare reductions in healthcare Read More » 