Changes effective Jan. 1 will apply to face-to-face encounters, therapy reassessments, rate setting, home health quality reporting and speech-language pathologists' conditions of participation. Read More »
Payments to home health agencies would decrease by 0.3 percent in fiscal year 2015 under changes to the Medicare prospective payment system proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS will accept comments on the proposal until Sept. 2. Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is proposing changes to payment rules under the SNF prospective payment system, a wage index update, and a Change in Therapy assessment policy update. June 30 is the last day to comment. Read More »
Congress may be ready to do away with the sustainable growth rate (SGR), re-fix the “doc fix” and ditch therapy caps, but will skilled nursing become the scapegoat for the costs? Read More »
The Department of Health and Human Services and its oversight body, the Office of Inspector General, released reports this week identifying strategic goals for the next few years. Read More »
Improved policies and payment models could see more individuals being treated in skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities as the country looks for ways to reduce costs and unnecessary hospitalizations, one expert believes. Read More »
An academic powerhouse and several senior living service providers are joining forces to try to find ways to increase the quality of long-term care while decreasing unnecessary healthcare spending. Read More »
New research reveals how nursing homes can improve their scores on satisfaction surveys of residents and families. The findings could take on added significance as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services considers moves that could affect the way SNFs are reimbursed. Read More »
Differences in the use of care at SNFs, rehab facilities and other post-acute settings largely account for variation in Medicare spending across geographic areas, according to a new report. Read More »
CMS’ plans for payment reform designed to cut costs in the post-acute sector for the FY2014 budget may be a cause of concern for the long-term care industry. 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 »
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 »
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 »
How much do you know about your GPO? CMS has instituted stricter disclosure rules pertaining to the financial relationships between providers and drug and device manufacturers. Read More »
Hundreds of provider sites are ready to test the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ four new models for restructuring the way episodes of care are paid for. Read More »
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 »
MedPAC recommends that Congress vote to keep the special needs plans under Medicare Advantage, although some of the plans perform better than others. Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
The latest version of the Nursing Home Inspect tool includes more ways to search nursing home survey data and to assess the historial track record of a skilled nursing facility. Read More »
Today was to be decision day for states on whether they intend to participate in the new state health exchange program, but an eleventh-hour extension from Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius gives the remaining eight states another few weeks to decide. Read More »
The Office of Inspector General continues to unearth massive misreporting and over-billing in nursing home claims, especially where therapy is involved. Read More »
Brookdale Senior Living is considering several financial options to refit its operations in an era of Medicare reductions, announced Brookdale's CFO and co-president Mark Ohlendorf today at the Stephens Fall Investment Conference. Read More »
The Department of Health and Human Services has submitted another rulemaking piece on state health insurance exchanges to the Office of Management and Budget—the last step before publication. Read More »
Long-term care organizations are using an aggressive advertising campaign to tell Congress to end the deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. Read More »
Under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Meaningful Use incentive program for the use of electronic health records, eligible providers have received more than $8 billion in incentive payouts since the program began in early 2011, according to this week's report. Read More »
