President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order asking top federal officials to explore a wide variety of Medicare Advantage expansion efforts, including a call to more closely align the rates paid by MA plans and traditional fee-for-service Medicare. Among the order’s provisions is a request for Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary […]
Just one day after the new Medicare payment model for nursing homes took effect, providers throughout the industry have begun showing signs of changing therapy strategies — and one of the nation’s top operators confirmed the layoff of about 585 rehab employees. A spokesperson for Genesis HealthCare (NYSE: GEN) confirmed to SNN that the company […]
Seven of eight former Dycora Transitional Health and Living skilled nursing facilities in Wisconsin have emerged from receivership under the operation of Bedrock Healthcare LLC. The Beaver Dam Daily Citizen of Beaver Dam, Wisc. initially reported the news on Wednesday. The properties initially entered receivership back in April at the request of landlord Golden Living […]
The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) on Tuesday announced the successful completion of a plan to spin off all of its non-skilled nursing business lines into a separate company, The Pennant Group (Nasdaq: PNTG). The San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based post-acute company’s board approved the plan at the end of August, nearly four months after it was […]
Skilled nursing providers looking for a simple answer to how managed care plans will react to the new Medicare payment model will likely have to face an inconvenient truth: It’s complicated. Private Medicare Advantage insurers didn’t have to follow the old Resource Utilization Group (RUG) model when deciding how to reimburse for skilled nursing services, […]
The long wait is over: The new Medicare payment system for nursing homes has arrived. October 1 marks the official start of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), just about 18 months after the federal government first announced the change in April 2018. Since then, the skilled nursing industry has trained a laser focus on preparations […]
The Department of Justice will soon embark on a plan to pursue criminal charges in False Claims Act cases involving nursing homes, Bloomberg Law reported Monday, as the federal government attempts to crack down on bad actors in the space. “We need to go after cases civilly because they a [sic] providing grossly substandard care […]
A mobile diagnostics company this week reached an $8.5 million settlement with the federal government to resolve allegations that it engaged in a kickback scheme with some of its skilled nursing partners. The Department of Justice accused Trident USA Health Services LLC of orchestrating “swapping” arrangements with SNFs, offering its X-ray and other diagnostic services […]
A new proposed rule that would expand Medicare coverage of dialysis services has already generated interest among skilled nursing operators, and multiple voices have called on officials to further cement the SNF connection. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in July rolled out the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Choices (ETC) model, a […]
While they don’t yet represent a direct threat to traditional skilled nursing providers, several marquee retail brands have made significant bets on the senior care space as the population ages — with a specific focus on keeping seniors healthy and out of institutional settings. Electronics retailer Best Buy’s (NYSE: BBY) recent moves into the senior […]
A bipartisan pair of lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bill that its supporters say would ease persistent staffing strains on the nation’s nursing home operators. The Nursing Home Workforce Quality Act would remove a mandatory two-year ban on certified nursing assistant (CNA) training that the federal government currently levies on skilled nursing facilities that have […]
Berkadia announced its involvement in a $76.8 million portfolio deal that saw a nursing facility operator take ownership of nine buildings it had leased since 2004. The New York City-based lender’s Seniors Housing & Healthcare Group extended the financing for an affiliate of an unnamed Tennessee-based owner-operator of skilled nursing facilities. The nine properties — […]
The Trump administration continued to cheer on the growth of Medicare Advantage plans Tuesday, with the nation’s top Medicare official touting the wider array of options available to beneficiaries next year. American seniors will have 600 additional Medicare Advantage plan choices next year, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Seema Verma announced in […]
Skilled nursing operators frequently decry Medicare Advantage plans’ focus on lower reimbursements and shorter lengths of stay, but a group of lawmakers claims that insurers in the space are spending far too much money — and potentially putting their beneficiaries at risk. A group of six U.S. senators, all Democrats, wrote a forceful letter to […]
Senior Housing Properties Trust (Nasdaq: SNH) on Monday completed the first wave of a planned $900 million property sell-off that will see the real estate investment trust (REIT) eliminate all standalone skilled nursing assets from its portfolio. The Newton, Mass.-based firm announced the sale of a 15-building skilled nursing portfolio in Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas […]
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) lending program for skilled nursing facilities grabbed some negative headlines earlier this year, but a key financial player in the space says that demand for the products remains strong — though the government has placed increasing focus on star ratings and care quality when underwriting deals. “The […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week filed a lawsuit against the Chicago-area businessman at the center of a record-setting nursing home loan default, accusing the man and his company of defrauding investors and misappropriating funds. The SEC alleged that Zvi Feiner, a nursing home owner and Orthodox rabbi, raised money from various investors […]
As payers and hospital networks increasingly treat skilled nursing facilities as just one stop along an overall episode of care, operators in the space have received a variety of messages about how to survive: Bring data, get to know referral partners’ problems, demonstrate your worth. But a leader at a major Philadelphia-area hospital network took […]
Despite a quarter-over-quarter drop, national occupancy at skilled nursing facilities inched upward in the second quarter of 2019 as compared to last year, even as Medicare Advantage revenues took a slight tumble. The nation’s nursing homes sat at 83.3% full during the second quarter of the year, up 0.5% from the same period last year, […]
Siena Lending Group earlier this month launched a health care finance practice that its leaders say will have a significant focus on the skilled nursing industry. The asset-based lender established Siena Healthcare Finance to serve a variety of players in the space, including hospitals, home health agencies, hospice companies, and institutional pharmacies. But given the […]
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