The Department of Health and Human Services launches a completely redesigned website ready to answer questions and assist in planning for this fall’s switch to the Health Insurance Marketplace (formerly Health Insurance Exchange). 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 RAI User's Manual received section revisions and clarifications on dental status (section L), skin conditions (section M) and other items in the May update release. Read More »
AANAC's Judi Kulus explains the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services attempt to iron out the confusing rules for coding activities of daily living (ADLs) under the RAI User's Manual. Read More »
Long-term care is a growing field for hospitalists to explore, which will enable them to fill the void in post-acute care as they do in the hospital setting. Read More »
CMS’ Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announces a significantly smaller and more-focused project list for Round Two of the funding awards. Read More »
Every country in the world--from Argentina to Zimbabwe--is confronted with the problem of caring for its elderly and paying for that care. Here's a firsthand look at how senior care is provided at a facility in France. Read More »
Congratulations to the fourth of our five 2013 Leaders of Tomorrow: Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC. After 30 years in acute care, Segal has dedicated herself to educating LTC facilities about infection control and prevention. Read More »
This summer will be a busy one as Congress deliberates the 2014 budget and how, without revisions, its proposed cuts to Medicare may affect the physicians, hospitals and long-term care providers. Read More »
Next year, in an effort to improve quality of care, skilled nursing facilities may share the penalties already levied to hospitals for 30-day Medicare hospital readmissions. Read More »
President Obama's new budget, released by the White House Wednesday, includes plenty of cuts, but also contains a few surprising increases. Read More »
Health information technology and long-term care, once rarely found in the same conversation, are now topics of discussion within multiple policy-making bodies and workgroups. Read More »
Senior Editor Pamela Tabar talks with Ruta Kadonoff, vice president of quality and regulatory affairs for the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), about quality in long-term care—and why being able to measure it will be important for business. 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 »
Florida’s Universal Health Care Insurance suddenly closed its doors last week, giving beneficiaries three days to choose another insurance provider. 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 »
A new survey of Texas nursing homes finds the series of state and federal funding cuts to seniors’ skilled nursing facility care is creating a dangerous strain on facilities’ ability to care for growing numbers of older, more medically complex residents. Read More »
Nursing home consumers—residents and their families—say the survey process has flaws that need to be addressed, according to a new report from the Coalition for Quality Care. Read More »
With the clock ticking on March 1 Medicare cuts to nursing homes resulting from the onset of the federal Budget Relief Act's sequester provision, the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care on Wednesday released a state "Top Ten List" detailing the Medicare cut total to state nursing homes, their residents and their workforce. Read More »
A new report from the Office of Inspector General accuses skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) of misusing their Medicare payments, since more than one-third of SNFs don’t fulfill—or even create—the care plans and discharge goals required for their residents. Read More »
