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 »
LTC providers should be as proactive and savvy as the American Medical Association when it comes to lobbying Congress by convincing residents to go to war for them when necessary. 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 »
A new mandate included in the Affordable Care Act requires a compliance and ethics program for nursing home providers. To achieve quality care through this regulation, staff education on RAI processes will become necessary. Read More »
LTC educator and consultant Leah Klusch offers critical guidance in navigating upcoming revisions in the resident assessment process. Providers, take note: The definitions for many terms and items have been changed. Read More »
The LeadingAge Center for Applied Research will study the role that publicly assisted, service-enriched housing for older adults can play in helping residents "age in place." Read More »
It’s time to ring in Long Term Care Administrators Week. ACHCA's Grachek begins the celebration by reflecting on the profession’s challenges, praising your resolve and encouraging all to remain steadfast toward the future. Read More »
As the Greatest Generation begins its curtain call, the Baby Boomers are waiting in the wings of the long-term care theater. Providers need to begin changing their settings now--There is no intermission. 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 »
Keeping pathways to survival clear is a disaster preparation that should be addressed every day. If everything is in its place and not blocking exits, evacuation is easier and more successful. 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 »
A recent series of unfortunate headlines, throughout both the United States and abroad, has shown the painful, and even deadly, results of resident aggression manifested into physical form. 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 »
The proposed rule for Stage 2 of meaningful use was being readied for publication in the Federal Register after an electronic formatting snafu had delayed its formal publication. Read More »
A draft national plan to address Alzheimer’s disease presents action steps to accelerate research together with proposals for improving care and services. 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 »
The four “Quality Initiative” goals have been defined for the next three years to set specific benchmarks for long-term and post-acute care quality 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 Long-Term Quality Alliance released a white paper reporting the lack of quality measures in long-term care to prevent unnecessary hospital readmissions. Read More »
Survey excellence should be a professional goal of all healthcare workers. I suggest a three-step approach to encouraging complete staff involvement: the Focus Review, the Fast Track and the Survey Prime. Read More »
One of the more exciting aspects of covering an industry so heavily affected by government policy is to observe how provider associations and advocates aggressively lobby for change. But how often do groups actually demand it? Read More »
