Marilyn Tavenner has obtained a vote of confidence from a Senate committee in her bid to become the first confirmed administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in seven years. Read More »
This summer will be a busy one as Congress deliberates the 2014 budget and how, without revisions, its proposed cuts to Medicare may affect the physicians, hospitals and long-term care providers. Read More »
Next year, in an effort to improve quality of care, skilled nursing facilities may share the penalties already levied to hospitals for 30-day Medicare hospital readmissions. Read More »
Clinical trials serve a crucial role in bringing new medications and treatments to the people who suffer from various disease. But it takes people willing to take the time to participate. Recently, 16 international organizations have banded together to encourage participation in Parkinson's disease trials. Read More »
President Obama's new budget, released by the White House Wednesday, includes plenty of cuts, but also contains a few surprising increases. Read More »
President Obama has proposed a $152.7 billion budget to expand access to healthcare, eliminate disability claim backlogs and end homelessness for veterans. Read More »
Two top industry executives share their insights on assisted living’s climate and trends. Assisted living survived the economic downturn and the collapse of the housing market intact and it is geared up and ready to continue moving forward. Read More »
A new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services document clarifies what tasks physicians may delegate to nurses within nursing homes serving Medicare and Medicaid residents. Read More »
Senior Editor Pamela Tabar talks with Ruta Kadonoff, vice president of quality and regulatory affairs for the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), about quality in long-term care—and why being able to measure it will be important for business. Read More »
The waiting is over. No resolution to the budget crisis means that sequestration begins—today. Long-term care facilities will feel the effects upfront, but a quieter casuality might be healthcare's information technology and data-sharing initiatives. Read More »
Expect changes as the Baby Boom generation ages. As in their youth, they will do things differently from their parents and create their own concepts of elderhood. Read More »
Florida’s Universal Health Care Insurance suddenly closed its doors last week, giving beneficiaries three days to choose another insurance provider. Read More »
The federal government last Friday announced a final rule that provides 100 percent payment of the cost of certain newly eligible adult Medicaid beneficiaries. Read More »
Sweeping changes may be on the horizon for the way Medicare billing is divided, as President Obama and Republicans put the idea of combining Medicare Parts A and B back on the discussion table, the New York Times reports today. Read More »
Knowledge about the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers has come a long way, but has it come far enough to prevent and reduce the incidence of this problem in long-term care? Read More »
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) got a tongue-lashing from the Senate Finance Committee, while CMMI’s director explains that testing new models takes time before payment reforms can be put into action. Read More »
Legislation that would roll back caps on therapy services to seniors in skilled nursing centers has been introduced in both the House and Senate and is being applauded by an industry reeling from one payment reduction after another. Read More »
States have refined survey systems and are demanding more disclosure for assisted living, according to the Assisted Living State Regulatory Review, released Wednesday by The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL). Read More »
Skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies face payment reductions, but hospices and long-term care hospitals get a first-round bye in MedPAC's latest Medicare payment recommendations to Congress. Read More »
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) today will voice its support for comprehensive immigration reform and offer solutions to the nationwide mid-level caregiver staffing crisis before a House Education & Workforce Subcommittee on Workplace Protections. Read More »
A new survey of Texas nursing homes finds the series of state and federal funding cuts to seniors’ skilled nursing facility care is creating a dangerous strain on facilities’ ability to care for growing numbers of older, more medically complex residents. Read More »
Many health professionals feel that dementia is under-diagnosed in nursing home residents, which may lead to poorly coordinated care or inappropriate care. Read More »
