The relationship between different nursing home staffing types and health outcomes is incredibly nuanced, and as operators grapple with optimizing the clinical workforce in the aftermath of the staffing mandate, researchers in the space say more study is needed to really understand the correlation between roles and quality measures. According to a July study published […]
The national Medicare Advantage beneficiary admissions to nursing homes increased by 21.2% in 2021, and Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) admissions in the sector decreased by 13.8% between 2022 and 2023. Trella Health captured this data in its post-acute care industry trend report for 2024, confirming what the industry has been saying about the rise of MA […]
Challenging times facing nursing homes in Kansas are emblematic of the national trend caused by staffing shortages. About one-fourth of nursing homes in Kansas have been labeled ‘problem’ facilities – that’s about 77 of the state’s 306 buildings. About six in 10 of Kansas nursing homes are owned by for-profit companies; three-fourths of the troubled […]
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Clifton J. Porter II as the new president and CEO of the association, effective this fall. Porter will be the first African American to fill the role in AHCA/NCAL’s 75-year history. He currently serves as the senior […]
There’s been a flurry of regulatory activity related to Medicare Advantage (MA) in the first half of this year, with many policy actions being the result of extensive advocacy efforts among nursing home organizations. However, many of the regulations – such as those related to prior authorizations for certain services – as they stand are […]
As regulatory, operational and legal risks abound for nursing home operators, strong relationships with commercial insurance carriers and brokers continue to be key in countering costs. Operators facing higher insurance premiums and greater administrative burdens have turned to using strong commercial insurance risk management companies as well as data-driven solutions that factor in the new […]
Average payment rates are set to decrease by 2.93% under the proposed 2025 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), a change that incorporates the zero percent overall update required by statute. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the proposed rule on Wednesday. Cynthia Morton, executive vice president for Advion Advocates, said this amounts to […]
Behind the success of PACS Group’s (NYSE: PACS) high-growth model is the nursing home giant’s principle of entrusting its early career administrators with greater autonomy. In rejecting the traditional path, PACS allows administrators in training the opportunity to step into their roles with greater independence much earlier. Enabling new leaders to make crucial decisions and […]
Nursing homes in Ohio will soon receive financial incentives for each additional private room they offer, thanks to a proposal recently greenlit by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The initiative, set to launch in the coming months, was developed by the Ohio Department of Medicaid and revises the reimbursement structure for Medicaid-funded […]
Four nursing homes in Pittsburgh barely avoided closure after an agreement was reached on Monday to sell the properties to New York-based WeCare Center, which operates 10 facilities between the two states. The sale was approved by a bankruptcy court judge after an agreement was reached between creditors and the federal government, according to a […]
Despite operational and financial headwinds affecting the nursing home sector currently, a transitional care program and physiatry partnership has been able to cut readmission rates from 29% to 9% among a group of facilities. OSF HealthCare, a 17-hospital system in Illinois and Michigan, partnered with physiatry and care coordination management group Puzzle Healthcare to deliver […]
Amid plans to launch the largest provider-owned institutional special needs plan (I-SNP) in the U.S., Brickyard Healthcare is also making sure it surpasses certain other challenges facing the sector. Along with this endeavor, eliminating agency use, preparing for managed Medicaid in Indiana, and being ready to face the staffing mandate, have all been top of […]
A Supreme Court decision on Friday could significantly weaken federal agencies’ authority to regulate industries, including powers of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), with wide implications for the recently finalized federal minimum staffing rule for nursing homes. The Supreme Court’s decision to discard the long-standing so-called Chevron doctrine is a “game changer,” […]
Skilled nursing assets at continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) have long been subject to downsizing for a variety of reasons, including operational challenges, the cost to care for skilled patients and regulatory hurdles. Add to this list: the severity of the nursing home survey process. Stu Almer, CEO of Gurwin Healthcare System in New York, […]
Nursing home expenditures increased by 8.3% between March and April, second only to home health. Spending grew by 7.1% across the health care continuum year over year in April, as nursing care facilities saw a 1.8% decrease in employment compared to pre-pandemic numbers, according to a report by Stephens Inc. Meanwhile, nursing care facilities saw […]
Medicare Fee-for-Service, or traditional Medicare, admissions to nursing homes decreased significantly year over year by almost 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Coupled with this drop is a steady rise in Medicare Advantage enrollment, with such plans representing 54.7% of all beneficiaries enrolled in both Medicare Part A and B as of February, Trella […]
Georgia nonprofit A.G. Rhodes’ CEO, Deke Cateau, is all about solutions. To that end, he has had a busy couple of years, successfully expanding one of the operator’s three campuses to be all private rooms with a dementia area built with the household model in mind – a $37.5 million endeavor. Cateau said he would […]
LeadingAge officially became a co-plaintiff with the American Health Care Association (AHCA) in a lawsuit to dismiss the government’s staffing mandate for nursing homes. The association in early June decided to file to join AHCA’s lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during a […]
Texas-based Touchstone Communities hasn’t been slowing down this year, with the operator busy acquiring and building properties. On top of brick-and-mortar updates, Touchstone also partnered with Longevity Health in January to offer institutional special needs plans (I-SNPs) to its residents. It’s very thoughtful, controlled growth aimed at diversification of assets, said Leslie Cunningham Campbell, COO […]
Occupancy shifts appear to be happening across the largest nursing home operators, with the Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) seeing facility occupancy fall as other leading sector players showed gains while overall sector occupancy levels remained steady. Ensign’s occupancy levels dropped to 78.5%, posting a loss of 40 basis points. Meanwhile, PACS Group (NYSE: PACS) saw […]
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