Of the nearly 700 stoke patients studied, 18 percent were rehospitalized during the three months following discharge. Patients with better motor and cognitive abilities at rehabilitation discharge were less likely to be rehospitalized. Read More »
Determining what is “less institutional” may not be a foregone conclusion. Making assumptions about residents’ preferences is dangerous business, and when we simply ask residents what they want, they surprise us more often than not. Read More »
Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Louisiana, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia and New Jersey will absorb the largest Medicare funding cuts from bad debt provisions, a new Avalere Health analysis found. Read More »
A policy paper addresses the potential impact of payment reductions including the loss of at least 20,000 jobs industry-wide and cancellation of facility expansions or renovations that would have generated 20,000-25,000 new jobs. Read More »
Under the new healthcare law, the 15-member board would have had the authority to cut $575 billion from Medicare over 10 years through rationing and price controls. Read More »
RACs are now allowed to request a maximum of 400 medical records in a 45-day period, while SNFs must provide documentation for Medicare beneficiaries’ entire episodes of care. Read More »
Final rule implements provisions of the Affordable Care Act that terminated several eligibility categories for Medicaid in favor of an income-based standard of 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Read More »
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommends SNF payments rebasing in 2014 with an initial reduction of 4 percent and reduced payments to SNFs with higher rates of rehospitalization. Read More »
The initiative aims to fund organizations that would partner with nursing facilities to provide enhanced on-site services to residents through evidence-based interventions. Read More »
The total cost of caring for people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia includes $140 billion paid by Medicare and Medicaid, according to “2012 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures.” Read More »
The bipartisan bill would eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) from the Affordable Care Act. The bill will now go the House floor for a vote. Read More »
The Government Accountability Office report says the QIS was intended to improve the nursing home survey process, but CMS is not routinely monitoring the extent to which objectives are being met. Read More »
States are eligible for the Medicaid grants if they currently spend less than 50 percent of their total long-term care costs on community-based options. Read More »
Between January 2006 and November 2011, Medistat Group Associates P.A. certified more Medicare beneficiaries for home health services and had more purported patients than any other medical practice in the United States, according to the indictment. Read More »
A new study shows that most boomers are ignorant about Medicare and its provisions including long-term care coverage, monthly premiums, co-pays and deductibles. Read More »
As the fruits of this system are borne each winter to national attention, so too are its faults—to the providers who are affected, and those who remember the recent past. AHCA and LeadingAge offer up areas for improvement. Read More »
Nurse assessment coordinators report lower job satisfaction and general frustration managing and administrating the new tool. Additionally, constant changes have made it difficult to keep up with the new rules. That said, CMS got some important things right with 3.0. Read More »
The CMS announcement followed a separate HHS report finding that the government had recovered nearly $4.1 billion in healthcare fraud cases during FY2011. Read More »
The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care called Obama’s approach to achieving the proposed $4 trillion in deficit reductions a “strategy of ‘cuts only’ without reforms.” Read More »
The 2013 budget includes proposals to cut approximately $248 billion on Medicare and $72 billion on Medicaid and to lower payments to nursing homes. Read More »
Only a handful of states are expected to see an increase in Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, according to projections by the National Association of Medicaid Directors. Read More »
The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care, which announced the poll's findings, intends to broadcast the results “on Capitol Hill and in states across the nation.” Read More »
The current Medicare payment policy for hospital “never events” has created risks for unassuming post-acute providers. Nursing homes, assisted living facilities and CCRCs need to prepare for the coming impact. Read More »
The CBO said outlays for Medicare would be $9 billion higher in 2012 alone if Congress overrides a scheduled 27 percent reduction under the SGR, which would take effect March 1. Read More »
"Don’t mess with residents’ dietary requirements" is the rallying cry of Jewish nursing home advocates after a past veto by Mitt Romney for funding kosher meals garners renewed attention. Read More »
The CMS rule, which implements prescription drug provisions of the Affordable Care Act, would increase transparency in drug pricing to ensure states are not overpaying for prescription drugs. Read More »
Gov. Quinn has boosted nursing home funding by millions of dollars to help carry out safety reforms passed in 2010. This is because the state won’t have to touch its own coffers to distribute the cash. Read More »
The industry is focused on reducing hospital readmissions and improving patient and staff satisfaction, AHCA/NCAL said. However, those goals may be in jeopardy with the likelihood of diminishing reimbursement. Read More »
