Certain nursing home characteristics — specifically those with higher Medicare star ratings, longer-tenured staff, non-profit and non-chain structures — are tied to better staff and resident vaccination rates, a JAMA Internal Medicine research report found. According to data released on Thursday by JAMA, for-profit ownership was linked to a 2.5 percentage point decrease in staff […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made headway separating metrics changes in the past year-and-a-half, tying some to the pandemic and others to implementation of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM). John Kane, technical advisor and SNF payment team lead for CMS, helped the skilled nursing industry better understand the impacts of PDPM […]
The Texas Health Care Association (THCA), in a joint proposal with aging services organization LeadingAge Texas, this week requested $400 million in funding to help providers staff buildings amid the skilled nursing workforce shortage. That’s less than 3% of the total federal aid funding allocated to the state, THCA said in a letter to Texas […]
Staff recruiting and retention, at least when it comes to general education about the skilled nursing industry, is starting at a much earlier age in part due to the ongoing staffing crisis, along with the “silver tsunami” that is aging baby boomers. More operators have plans to partner with community school districts to teach kids […]
Roughly 94% of Medicare beneficiaries want to receive post-acute care in the home rather than a skilled nursing facility, according to results of a Morning Consult poll released today. The poll was conducted on behalf of the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (PQHH), along with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). That’s […]
Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA), in a Monday statement to shareholders, said it will use an $11.9 million letter of credit to fund rent for Avamere Family of Companies from September through November. Wilsonville, Ore.-based Avamere leases 27 skilled nursing facilities and one continuing care retirement community (CCRC) with Sabra. The portfolio made up […]
Although nursing home operators have gotten a bit of a respite with the federal vaccine mandate expansion announced on Thursday, some say that doesn’t deter their efforts to educate staff and get as many vaccinated as possible prior to the federal government releasing further guidance in October. The Biden administration mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for […]
Value-based care management company AllyAlign Health last week announced it will offer two new co-branded Medicare Advantage plans to members of LeadingAge California, thanks to a partnership with the senior advocacy state group. The plans — institutional equivalent special needs plan (I-SNP) Align Thrive, and chronic conditions special needs plan (C-SNP) Align Connect — will […]
Upwards of 68,000 COVID-19 cases and 16,000 deaths were not reported to the federal National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) during the first few months of the pandemic, a JAMA Network study found, as reporting such numbers was optional up until the end of May. Reporting was mandated on May 24 of last year, more than […]
Redoubling efforts to vaccinate frontline health care workers against COVID-19 and its variants, President Joe Biden on Thursday expanded staff vaccination requirements to include any provider that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding. The move is part of sweeping efforts affecting upwards of 100 million Americans — employers with more than 100 workers will be required […]
The need for direct care workers in long-term care settings has grown in the last 10 years, and with staff expected to transfer to other occupations or exit the workforce altogether, alongside a growing elderly population, such job openings will nearly double in the next decade. From 2019 to 2029, there will be an estimated […]
There’s a strong possibility that Medicare will move to mandate value-based payment models (VBP) for the nursing home industry in the years to come, according to industry executives. Dr. René Lerer and Brian Cloch, CEOs for Longevity Health Plan and Transitional Care Management, respectively, spoke at a panel on the future of VBP models during […]
Occupancy continued to grow through the month of June for nursing homes — five months in a row — according to NIC MAP data released Thursday by NIC MAP Vision. That’s 297 basis points up from the industry’s low of 71.2% in January. June’s occupancy percentage was 74.2%. Investors are optimistic for the future of […]
The Biden administration’s vaccine mandate has dug a deeper hole for the nursing home industry, which has been trying to rebuild its reputation after a year and a half of negative press tied to the pandemic. Targeting the industry has worn away at already dwindling trust, especially for prospective residents and their families. “All the […]
Associations are seeing operators cap occupancy due to crippling staff shortages, including the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA), whose membership consists overwhelmingly of nursing home administrators along with students learning the role and those retired from it. Its incoming president and CEO Bob Lane discussed this vicious cycle with Skilled Nursing News, along […]
Real estate investment trust LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC) late Tuesday announced it entered into a settlement agreement with Senior Care Centers and Abri Health Services, collectively known as the “Lessee,” among others. The settlement — approved in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division — includes a one-time payment of […]
During a discussion to drive home the importance of more government funding for the aging services space, providers across the long-term care continuum, skilled nursing among them, said they are having to turn away referrals due to dwindling staff. President and CEO of LeadingAge Texas George Linial said 60% of his members have been unable […]
Kennett Square, Pa.-based Genesis HealthCare on Monday announced it has vaccinated all of its staff, barring those with medical or religious exemptions. While Genesis said it met the first deadline under its COVID-19 inoculation policy announced earlier this month, it did not reveal how many employees were terminated as part of its mandate. “While we […]
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure noted higher participation in value-based payment models like Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) during a recent discussion with HealthAffairs, but also hinted that consolidation of such programs may be needed. “Too many models in too many places that aren’t coordinated with each other,” is how […]
Institutional interest has ramped up in the skilled nursing space, with investors seeing opportunity in “stroke-of-the-pen risk,” including but not limited to the influx of government dollars during the pandemic. SNF real estate has experienced more liquidity compared to sister sectors like assisted living and senior housing, investors Ran Eliasaf and Jonathan Slusher told Skilled […]
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