The New Wave of Foodservice Technology in Senior Care

Healthcare reform

Washington budget fight has LTC industry fretting over more cuts

The fiscal cliff battle is behind us, but the nation is heading to another possible financial crisis caused largely by politics, and the nursing home sector—and their residents—could well be caught in the middle. Read More »

OIG widens crackdown on hospices

Another hospice gets a federal audit as the Office of Inspector General increases investigations at hospices across the country. Read More »

HHS extends filing deadline for state insurance exchanges

While the original filing deadline has passed, states have been given another extension for compliance with Obamacare’s health insurance exchange mandate. Read More »

Hospice accused of detaining, billing patients who were not terminally ill

A Florida hospice becomes the latest whistleblower lawsuit targeted by the Department of Justice’s Medicare fraud squad. Read More »

Telehealth bill proposes higher federal payments, less restrictions

Congress is considering new legislation that would erase many of the barriers to telehealth adoption and create better incentives for providers. Read More »

And we’re off!

As my long-term care administrator and clinician friends and colleagues know, there’s rarely true respite from the unrelenting demands of the healthcare industry. And as if you didn’t have enough work-related issues on your plate, 2013 has kicked off with a political and regulatory bang. Read More »

SNF group promotes patient-driven post-acute care reform

 The “fiscal cliff” has been averted but post-acute care still faces Medicare challenges. Read More »

Legislation averts ‘fiscal cliff’, LTC provider group reacts

Legislation averts the “fiscal cliff,” but several budget-making hurdles remain on the horizon. Read More »

New Chinese law: Visit your elderly parents—or else

“Respecting your elders” has gained a new meaning in China, where the national elder law has been amended to allow elders to sue their children for not taking care of them. Read More »

Obama, Senators set 11th-hour fiscal cliff meeting

No one’s sure what key bargaining chips will be in play at today’s 3 p.m. meeting between President Obama and congressional leaders, but raising the Medicare age isn’t going to be one of them, according to a key Democratic Senator. Read More »

Top 10 LTC news stories of 2012

The long-term care industry was buffeted by forceful winds of change in 2012. Regulatory, political, economic and societal transitions tested providers’ mettle as the LTC landscape struggles to evolve and adapt. Technological advances and an improving senior housing market were bright spots in a busy news year. Read More »

Washington Update: Republicans fail to support Boehner’s latest fiscal cliff proposal

On the Friday before the Christmas holiday, Congress is still nowhere on an agreement to avert sequestration and the fiscal cliff. Read More »

When high-tech meets low-tech

We’ve got high-tech flooring sensors, in-room monitors for falls management and remote home monitoring.. . but wait—did we forget to redesign the stairs? Today's IOM meeting in Washington, D.C., provides a backdrop for good discussions on technology, health space design and mission. Read More »

Are SNFs causing their own headaches?

MedPAC proposes more cuts for 2014, and the skilled nursing industry objects. But the GAO issues a report that can only make the industry’s case more difficult. Read More »

AHCA: Medicaid payment shortfalls projected at $7 billion for 2012

A new report released today by the American Health Care Association shows historic shortfalls in what Medicaid pays and what skilled nursing care actually costs. Read More »

ONC releases final EMR testing specs for 2014

No more guessing: After months of drafting and reviewing, the Final Testing Method for electronic medical records (EMRs) has been published by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). Read More »

Working with Workflow: Long-term care’s EMR Technology

Will your EMR grow along with you? Does your information system understand you facility's workflow? Senior care technology expert John Derr explains how to assess workflow amid information technology changes and upgrades. Read More »

Medicare policies complicate aging-in-place strategies

If aging-in-place is on the rise, why is it becoming more difficult for stay-at-home seniors to get mobility equipment? Read More »

HHS says no to full funding for partial Medicaid expansions

The Department of Health & Human Services clarified its position Monday on funding ratios for state Medicaid expansions and published an extensive FAQ list on state health insurance exchanges. Read More »

Washington Update: Medicare, ‘doc-fix’ and the ‘fiscal cliff’

Healthcare policy expert Blair Childs, vice president for public affairs at Premier healthcare alliance, gives his "insider impressions" of what’s happening on the Hill regarding a possible "doc-fix," Medicare funding, and possible Affordable Care Act policy changes as the deadline clock ticks down on the fiscal cliff. Read More »

BREAKING: GOP returns with counter-offer to avert ‘fiscal cliff’

Speaker of the House John Boehner delivered a new proposal to solve the budget crisis this afternoon-- including billions in healthcare cuts. Read More »

TN hospice takes the lead on palliative quality reporting

A Nashville hospice care provider has become the first hospice organization in the country to publicize its care quality data, raising the bar for others in the palliative care industry. Read More »

Obama administration proposes $340 billion in Medicare cuts in preliminary “fiscal cliff” negotiations

According to news reports on Nov. 28 and 29, President Barack Obama has proposed cutting $340 billion from Medicare spending over 10 years, in his fiscal year 2013 budget, as part of his initial bargaining stance with Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner (R-OH) and congressional Republicans, during the so-called “fiscal cliff” negotiations. Read More »

OIG to CMS: Get tougher on EHR incentive verifications

There are plenty of potential holes in the Meaningful Use incentives programs for electronic health records—and too many temptations for cheating, says a new OIG report. Read More »

DOJ orders repayment of improper Medicare reimbursements

In the wake of federal reports of rampant fraudulence Medicare billing, the letters begin arriving at hospitals and other healthcare sites: Medicare wants its money back. Read More »

3 marketing strategies in response to the Affordable Care Act

President Barack Obama’s reelection ensured that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be fully implemented and your organization needs to be prepared for its potential impact on your facility or service. Here are some important aspects of the law you must consider when making strategic and tactical decisions that will impact the marketing of your services. Read More »

BREAKING: HHS releases proposed rules for state insurance premiums, workplace wellness programs

The release of today's proposed rules brings the Department of Health & Human Services a few steps closer in building the rules for state health exchanges (HIX). Read More »

OIG alleges rampant skilled nursing billing errors

The Wall Street Journal reported that the OIG is using the term “Operation Vacuum Cleaner” to refer to its review of nursing home billing issues. This term is perhaps even more foreboding than the report itself. With the fiscal cliff looming and sharp negotiations set to begin over the future of Medicare reimbursement, the timing and substance of this report are less than ideal for an industry already under fire. Read More »

LTC industry seeks to avert fiscal cliff

The long-term care industry, concerned about the impact of potentially devastating “fiscal cliff” federal funding cuts, has launched a broad offensive in hopes of convincing Congress and President Obama to reach a deal that will prevent those reductions from being imposed. Read More »

Seniors to Congress: Don’t push us off the ‘fiscal cliff’

A post-election survey shows that seniors 50+ years of age do not want changes to Medicare or Social Security at this time. Read More »