The United States isn’t the only country experiencing explosive growth within the senior demographic. As the elderly population and the costs of senior care rise across the globe, other countries are weighing the U.S. long-term care experience. How will they handle the need for expanded senior services? Read More »
The United States isn’t the only country experiencing explosive growth within the senior demographic. As the elderly population and the costs of senior care rise across the globe, other countries are weighing the U.S. long-term care experience. Read More »
A bipartisan Congressional group introduces the Medicare Transitional Care Act of 2012, moving ahead to formalize reimbursement for care transitions. Read More »
The long-term care industry has launched a campaign to oppose "devastating" sequestration cuts. An AHCA ad campaign came less than a week after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a report detailing how federal agencies would implement the $110 billion in mandatory, across-the-board budget cuts for 2013. Read More »
A new report reveals increased use of high-cost Medicare services, leading investigators to suspect upcoding and billing abuse. Providers defend their practices, saying increased costs are partly because of senior care. Read More »
Medicare providers could be facing a $11 billion reduction in reimbursements if the government's sequestration process goes forward, according to an OMB report released today. Read More »
Five years of data from Center for Medicare & Medicaid’s largest experiment in performance-based reimbursement are mixed, but physician groups succeeded in slashing the costs for dual-eligibles. Read More »
As nursing homes compete in the post-reform environment for new direct patient admissions and more hospital discharges, several data driven tools—from Five Star rankings to hospital readmission benchmarks—that form the core of CMS’ focus on quality will be critical to nursing homes’ success. Read More »
What started out as a comparative analysis on reimbursement rates related to catheter-based urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) has opened a huge can of worms concerning hospital datasets and their reliability as performance measurements. Read More »
In a milestone report released today, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) analyzes why the U.S. healthcare system needs a new business-based attitude, and why it struggles to learn from its own data. Read More »
Mandating that nursing home providers institute both a formal, facility-wide compliance and quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI) program while enhancing nurse aide training across their facilities, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) aims to elevate the quality of care in America’s nursing homes over the next few years. Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' rule on hospital "observation stays" has generated much controversy. The American Health Care Association strikes back with a long list of changes that should be made--and why. Read More »
In early August, Massachusetts became the 17th state to protect registered nurses from mandatory overtime. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a healthcare law that identifies restrictions. In California and Missouri, regulations contain provisions for mandatory overtime. Read More »
When it comes to getting Medicaid assistance for long-term care costs, too many rule variations among the states have created a chaotic system, a GAO report concludes. Read More »
Knowing that the quality measures (QMs) are used by surveyors and the public to evaluate your facility’s care outcomes should convince you to give high priority to understanding the details of the QMs. Read More »
Last month I blogged about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ controversial Five-Star Quality Rating System in light of news of its revamped Nursing Home Compare website. I invited readers to share their thoughts on the rating system and the website, knowing that this was one issue certain to generate some commentary. And it sure did. Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services on Friday published a final rule pushing back the compliance deadline for converting to the ICD-10 system of diagnostic and procedural coding to October 1, 2014 from October 1, 2013. Read More »
Ohio is the latest state to launch a pay-for-quality program for skilled nursing reimbursement. But with 10 percent of reimbursement riding on passing the quality program, is the test tough enough? Read More »
As Medicare and Medicaid programs grow, the insurance market is spending billions to get a larger slice of the government-backed healthcare markets. Read More »
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid's requested extension for the ICD-10 transition hasn’t been made official yet, but providers shouldn’t waste any time continuing their planning. Read More »
As reimbursement becomes increasingly tied to clinical quality and performance, Ohio joins the list of states that are trying a bigger carrot instead of the stick. Read More »
As boomers reminisce about their skateboards while shopping for bed boards, the nation’s communities, healthcare systems, and long-term care are preparing to meet their expectations. A recent survey discovered how this generation views aging—their concerns and their outlook. Read More »
The billing differences between inpatient and observation hospitalizations are causing plenty of headaches, but the American Health Care Association believes CMS’ new pilot program is a step in the right direction. Read More »
A growing number of seniors who have observational hospital stays are getting stuck with the bill for their SNF care. CMS is launching a new pilot to try to iron out the wrinkles in the claims system. Read More »
Seniors in seven states soon will need prior authorization for powerchairs under Medicare. The homecare industry voices its disappointment in the lack of physician documentation standards for authorization. Read More »
Home healthcare agencies are the focus of $5 million in suspect Medicare claims, according to this week's report from the Office of Inspector General. Read More »
