Reimbursement

LTC premium changes depend on gender, marital status, insurer

Long-term care insurance ultimately may help seniors afford your services, but they face premium increases or decreases depending on their gender and marital status, according to a new report. Read More »

Illinois hospice charged in $125M fraud case

An Illinois hospice services provider is accused of training employees to fudge hospice placements and upcharge for care. Read More »

Increased hospitalization risk tied to home- and community-based care: study

Seniors transferring from nursing homes to home- and community-based services are at 40 percent greater risk of “potentially preventable” hospitalizations, according to a newly published study. Read More »

What the omnibus bill means for long-term care

The federal omnibus appropriations bill for 2014 has more than $1 trillion in funding for government programs. See how programs related to long-term care are affected. Read More »

CMS proposes emergency preparedness procedures

Four components should be part of every senior care provider's emergency preparedness plan, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Found out what the agency is proposing and how you can comment. Read More »

Website provides long-term care facility information

A nonprofit foundation is offering residents of one state information about the performance and features of long-term care facilities there. Read More »

U.S. spends more on SNF, CCRC care, but home healthcare spending growing faster: report

The United States spends more money for care provided at skilled nursing facilities and continuing care retirement communities than for care provided through home healthcare agencies, according to a new report, but spending for home healthcare is growing at a faster rate.  Read More »

2014: The year of the ACO?

After a mixed year of progress and stumblings, accountable care organizations are expected to surge as a care model in 2014, according to a year-over-year trends report. Read More »

Top 10 Long-Term Living stories of 2013

Long-Term Living's Leaders of Tomorrow Awards, senior living environments and nursing home regulations were among the hot topics for our social media friends and followers this year, as an examination of analytics reveals. Read More »

ONC names Karen DeSalvo, MD, new national coordinator for HIT

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has named Karen DeSalvo, MD, as its next leader. Read More »

Killing the SGR and therapy caps

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 »

NCOA ‘cautiously optimistic’ for permanent QI fix in 2014

The National Council on Aging is “disappointed” that Congress has not acted to make permanent a program that pays Part B premiums for some Medicare recipients, but the organization remains hopeful that the program will be made permanent in 2014. Read More »

LTSS focus of Senate committee hearing

The recommendations made by the federal Commission on Long-Term Care related to long-term services and supports for seniors and disabled individuals are the focus of a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing. Read More »

OIG releases strategic plan for 2014-2018

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 »

Long-term and post-acute care’s roles in lowering hospital readmissions

Post-acute medication management and partnerships with long-term care facilities and others are two strategies put forth by two recent pieces of research examining ways to lower hospital readmissions. Read More »

Data power in the managed care era

Long-term care (LTC) companies that acquire and understand their data will be in a much stronger position as hospitals, managed care organizations and accountable care organizations look for LTC partners, experts say. Read More »

California unprepared to meet LTC needs over next decade, new report says

In a challenge being faced in other parts of the country, too, California soon will have to make difficult fiscal trade-offs in an attempt to balance the long-term care needs of its residents with demands related to other programs, a new report finds. Read More »

Legal blog: CMS’ revision of sprinkler enforcement

Healthcare attorney Alan C. Horowitz explains the background to the latest revisions to the CMS compliance rules on fire sprinklers in skilled nursing facilities. Read More »

New bill ties 3-day stay waiver to Nursing Home Compare ratings

Under a proposed bill, SNFs meeting certain criteria based on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services quality ratings automatically would qualify to waive the prior hospitalization requirement for Medicare coverage of Part A skilled nursing care benefits. Read More »

Chasing the healthcare dollar

These days, the definitions of "service lines" are blurring as traditionally separate entities merge, partner and expand to capture more and more of the consumer’s healthcare spend. As the lines between payers and providers erode, where will post-acute care end up? Read More »

Long-term care-related comedy to air on HBO

You may see some familiar faces on Nov. 24 when HBO debuts a comedy about a “ragtag crew” caring for elderly women at a hospital’s extended care unit. Read More »

Hospice, home healthcare owners paying for fraud allegations

A hospice and a home healthcare agency are facing the consequences after being accused of committing healthcare fraud. Read More »

CMS issues 2014 Medicare payment rate updates

The Medicare payment updates for 2014 have been released. How can your facility best guide your own resident beneficiaries? Read More »

Experian buys Passport Health

A national credit reporting company acquires a key healthcare insurance eligibility clearinghouse, further expanding its footprint in the healthcare IT arena.  Read More »

IRS increases tax deductions for LTC insurance

If you or those for whom you care are concerned about how to pay for long-term care, you may be interested to learn that the Internal Revenue Service has increased the tax deductions allowed for the purchase of long-term care insurance policies in 2014. Read More »

Johnson & Johnson to pay $2.2 billion to resolve off-label marketing and kickback allegations

In what the federal government maintains is one of the largest healthcare fraud settlements in U.S. history, Johnson & Johnson and subsidiaries will pay more than $2.2 billion for allegedly promoting three drugs for unapproved uses in the elderly and others as well as purportedly paying kickbacks to doctors and the country’s biggest long-term care pharmacy provider. Read More »

Bundling without bungling

Bundling payments is becoming a reality for many long-term and post-acute care communities, but do you know where to start? Read More »

LTC financing is focus of November observance

One organization is using an annual observance to remind the public about the importance of planning for long-term care. Read More »

Public weighs in on federal health agencies

A new survey gauges public perception of several national government agencies and departments. See where your opinion fits in. Read More »

Health insurance exchanges for small businesses focus of study

If your facility employs 50 or fewer full-time workers, you may be interested in the results of a new study of the new Small Business Health Options Program through which companies like yours can purchase health insurance. Read More »