The federal government has not yet released the nuts-and-bolts details of its new COVID-19 reporting requirements for nursing homes, but an official on Wednesday indicated that the various agencies involved are trying to limit the pending rule’s impact on providers. “I assure you we are working to find the most efficient way to collect this […]
The Senate this week passed an updated stimulus bill that will load an additional $75 billion into a dedicated relief fund for health care providers, though nursing homes that rely on Medicaid for income are still waiting for the first distribution from the pot. The $2 trillion CARES Act set aside $100 billion for the […]
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday praised the operators of many post-acute and long-term care facilities facing COVID-19 outbreaks, calling for a deep data dive on what went wrong once the crisis passes. “This is a topic that will get a lot of appropriate analysis after the fact,” Baker, a Republican, said during a daily […]
As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, access to coronavirus testing has emerged as an essential but frustratingly elusive weapon for long-term and post-acute care facilities. Simply put, operators of nursing homes and rehab centers can’t effectively fight what they can’t see, and every day without widespread testing capabilities forces leaders to make impossible decisions: None […]
Third Eye Health had a two-year plan to expand the network of skilled nursing facilities that use its telehealth technology from 400 to more than 1,000. Amid a world-historic pandemic, the Chicago-based tech company reached that multi-year goal in a matter of a few weeks. “We’ve had truly exponential growth,” Third Eye vice president and […]
A facility in New Jersey that made national headlines after the New York Times reported on a wave of COVID-19 deaths among its residents has a connection to the defunct Skyline Healthcare nursing home chain — a company whose spectacular collapse spurred calls for greater transparency around nursing home ownership across the country. Louis Schwartz, […]
The federal government this week offered a glimpse into how non-emergency medical procedures, temporarily banned amid the COVID-19 pandemic, may resume in certain parts of the country. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance for how health care providers should prioritize non-coronavirus care once their specific region hits Phase I of the […]
The federal government has granted Medicare Advantage plans significant leeway when it comes to setting payment rates and other rules for skilled nursing facilities. In normal times, the crazy quilt of managed-care policies and exceptions creates headaches for operators and their billing teams. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, widespread variations in Medicare Advantage behavior add […]
Following weeks of pressure from industry leaders, resident advocates, and the media, the federal government on Sunday night ordered the nation’s nursing homes to begin reporting all positive COVID-19 cases directly to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Seema Verma described the move as a […]
Nursing homes that rely primarily on Medicaid funding were largely shut out of the first round of coronavirus stimulus money set aside for health care providers — and while the federal government has promised that help is on the way, a group of 27 U.S. senators wants faster action. Led by Sen. David Perdue of […]
Blanket restrictions on non-essential visits to senior living and care properties should remain in effect until the very last phase of the federal government’s plan to gradually reopen public places and restart the economy, the White House announced this week. Designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to vulnerable populations, the visitation ban for nursing […]
Over the last few weeks, the concept of “cohorting” nursing home residents has emerged as a key, but potentially fraught, strategy for blunting the spread of COVID-19. In theory, the concept makes complete sense: If providers and health officials can separate residents who test positive from those without COVID-19, they can provide safe, uninterrupted care […]
Chicago-based specialty investment bank Ziegler this week announced the successful sale of a three-building skilled nursing portfolio on behalf of former owner Emerald Shelter Group. The buyer, a joint venture between an owner-operator group and a private equity firm, paid $67 million for the three properties in Wilmington, Newark, and Lewes, Del. Based in Nashville, […]
Over the course of decades, lawmakers have built a jury-rigged structure to support the American post-acute and long-term care landscape. At the base, Medicaid supports long-term care residents who can no longer live on their own without around-the-clock care. Medicare dollars pay for higher-acuity care that seniors require after hospital stays — and prop up […]
Buried in an early April announcement from the federal government about updated COVID-19 guidance for nursing homes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a pair of statistics from the early days of an infection-control crackdown by state inspectors. Surveyors found that 36% of facilities were not following proper hand-washing protocols during the […]
The state of California this week announced a program that will provide $500 stipends for certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) who work in the skilled nursing setting, funded primarily by a $25 million donation from social networking giant Facebook. Frontline caregivers who qualify under the “Skilled Nursing Facility Hero Awards” program […]
Saber Healthcare Group, LLC will pay $10 million to settle a federal investigation into its rehabilitation therapy practices, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday. Investigators had accused the Bedford Heights, Ohio-based Saber of working to artificially boost its Medicare income by pressuring therapists to place residents in the “ultra high” category, a classification that brought […]
As recently as two weeks ago, the federal government was holding up Massachusetts as the pioneer of a push to “cohort” skilled nursing residents by converting some properties to centers dedicated to treating COVID-19. This week, state officials announced a significant change in its nursing home coronavirus strategy, citing concerns over spreading the disease in […]
Late last week, some operators of skilled nursing facilities — along with many other providers that perform Medicare-reimbursed health care services — woke up to a sudden influx of cash in their corporate bank accounts. But they may not necessarily be able to keep it. Without much fanfare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services […]
The federal government on Monday released updated guidance indicating that nursing homes do not need any additional approval before transferring or discharging residents for the purposes of creating separate spaces for residents with COVID-19 and those without the infection. In a Monday memo to state survey agencies (SSAs), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) […]
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