Nine skilled nursing facilities and a pair of consulting firms will pay the federal government $10 million as part of a deal to settle allegations of false Medicare claims. Southern SNF Management Inc., Rehab Services in Motion dba Dynamic Rehab, and nine related SNFs in Florida and Alabama were accused of providing unnecessary therapy services […]
In a skilled nursing era where success is increasingly defined by the volume and accuracy of data, a major real estate investment trust (REIT) in the space on Tuesday announced a partnership with a leading health care analytics firm. The Irvine, Calif.-based Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA) will begin using three data products from […]
Quality Care Properties (NYSE: QCP) last week announced steps to clear up a pair of lawsuits surrounding its impending acquisition by fellow real estate investment trust (REIT) Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL). The two class-action lawsuits — Sanderson v. Quality Care Properties and Kent v. Quality Care Properties — alleged that the REIT violated the Exchange […]
Skilled nursing facilities lag far behind home health and other long-term care settings among providers’ investment outlooks, according to a new survey of major health care providers. Just 12% of organizations surveyed by consulting and advisory firm BDO said they were making investments in skilled nursing care as part of their two-year plan to 2020 […]
The amount of skilled nursing residents covered by in-house insurance plans remains small, but the growth has been steady in just the last few years — and providers are beginning to stand up and notice. Still, starting an Institutional* Special Needs Plan (I-SNP) isn’t for every operator, and one consultant in the space says savvy […]
The recent megadeals involving popular consumer brands and health care giants haven’t touched skilled nursing yet, but the moves are sending ripple effects through the industry as a whole — and SNF providers would be wise to listen up. When CVS acquired insurance giant Aetna and Amazon teamed up to form a health care company with […]
If there’s been one overarching philosophy in skilled nursing over the past year, it’s been the rise of regional: the idea that major chains aren’t nimble and and flexible enough to weather the regulatory changes and financial pressures that have gripped SNFs. It’s a theory that has been borne out by reality: Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: […]
Skilled nursing facilities have until October to prepare for the new Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) model, and the stakes are high: Starting this fall, SNFs will automatically lose 2% of their Medicare funding, which they can earn back by hitting certain key quality benchmarks. Providers that have already participated in risk-based accountable care organizations (ACOs) will […]
It’s 4 p.m. on a Friday evening, and a patient at an acute care hospital needs a referral to a skilled nursing facility. Even if the hospital has a phone-book-sized list of all the different providers in the area who accept a specific managed care health plan, the reality is much narrower. “Our care management […]
In a post-acute landscape dominated by the rise of Medicare Advantage and the looming changes to therapy payments, the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) program has fallen somewhat by the wayside. That’s partially because post-acute providers — including skilled nursing operators and home health agencies — can no longer be episode initiators under the upcoming BPCI […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week announced a new database that its leaders claim will help foster a more seamless transfer of data between post-acute care facilities. The Data Element Library (DEL) will allow the public to access various data points that providers are required to report to CMS — including demographic […]
Quality Care Properties (NYSE: QCP) has set a date for shareholders to vote on its proposed acquisition by Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) and the ProMedica hospital system — and despite rumblings about a potentially better offer, QCP continues to tell shareholders to approve the deal. The real estate investment trust (REIT) will convene a meeting […]
As skilled nursing occupancy continues to notch record low after record low, strategies to capitalize on the shrinking pool of residents remain top concerns for operators and investors. And at least one analyst says providers should look to the kind of operational improvements that have helped keep afloat another struggling industry: manufacturing. “It’s your labor […]
The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) this week announced the acquisition of a new office building for its Service Center employees. The 115,000-square-foot space in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. will replace a leased space in Mission Viejo, Calif., where the skilled nursing provider is currently based. “After considering dozens of possibilities over the last 18 months, […]
The Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) last week announced a nationwide expansion of its Aging Services/Senior Living Practice group, with an eye on the emerging trends in the skilled nursing space. First launched on a regional basis in the Southeast about four years ago, the senior-specific group has seen the increasing regionalization of the skilled […]
As referral networks narrow and skilled nursing providers feel increased pressure to prove their worth to hospitals and doctors, one government agency says residents still frequently miss the highest-quality options in their own areas. In its most recent report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) asserts that many hospitals discharge post-acute care patients […]
In a week that saw more evidence of occupancy pressures for operators, smart assistants helping employees multitask at a New York skilled nursing facility, and a mixed outlook for the new therapy payment system, here are some stories that you may have missed along the way. Conflicts of Interest Among Lawmakers Who Own Nursing Homes […]
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) issued a mostly positive assessment of the new proposed payment rules for skilled nursing facilities, but the organization wants change to come faster than planned. Citing the similarity between the new Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) and the now-shelved Resident Classification System, Version I (RCS-I), MedPAC asserted that the planned […]
For the first time in six years, skilled nursing occupancy failed to increase between the fourth and first quarters as the numbers continued their grim march downward. Occupancy fell to 81.6% in the first quarter of 2018, according to the most recent data release from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). […]
Most of the talk surrounding the potential for consumer-grade gadgets in long-term care focuses on the lower-acuity world of assisted and independent living, where residents generally have more mobility and autonomy. But one skilled nursing provider says it’s seeing success with its fleet of Amazon Echo devices — both for residents and employees. The New […]
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