Payment Perspectives: Mark Price, CEO, Curana Health

In this Payment Perspectives interview, Skilled Nursing News is joined by Mark Price, CEO, Curana Health, to talk about what skilled nursing providers can do to navigate the current payment landscape and get paid for the extra value they provide. He explains how providers can leverage proprietary data to show payers the value they are […]

Payment Perspectives: Nicole Fallon, Vice President of Integrated Services & Managed Care, LeadingAge

As VP of integrated services and managed care for national nonprofit aging services provider association LeadingAge, Nicole Fallon is at the helm of policy-making and advocacy efforts related to the health care payment landscape. Having worked previously for both insurance and consulting organizations, Fallon brings a wealth of knowledge to her role in exploring emerging […]

Payment Perspectives: Hank Watson, Chief Development Officer, American Health Plans

In this Payment Perspectives interview, Skilled Nursing News is joined by American Health Plans Chief Development Officer Hank Watson to talk about what health care providers need to do differently when it comes to payment evolution. He explains how skilled nursing providers can show their value to payers, and he also debunks the common myths […]

Payment Perspectives: Anthony Laflen, Sr. Director, Industry Market Leader, PointClickCare

Anthony Laflen, Sr. Director, Industry Market Leader at PointClickCare, is intimately familiar with the challenges — and opportunities —today’s skilled nursing payment landscape presents. From spending more than a decade working in the skilled nursing provider world and today in his role with PointClickcare helping care organizations equip themselves with data, Laflen brings perspectives from […]

Elmbrook CEO Coble: Nursing Home Operators Must Prepare for End of Fee-For-Service Medicare

Oklahoma-based Elmbrook Management has doubled in size since 2018, and now is in the process of transforming from a skilled nursing provider into a population health management organization. Doing so is necessary to prepare for the future, as fee-for-service Medicare is rapidly being eclipsed by managed care models, Elmbrook CEO Tom Coble said on the […]

White House Order Aims to Tie Nursing Home Medicare Payments to Worker Retention

The White House today announced that President Biden will enact “the most sweeping set of executive actions to improve care in history,” which will include directives related to nursing home staffing and Medicare payments. Specifically, Biden’s executive order will direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to “build on the minimum staffing standards […]

Shortage of Skilled Nursing Beds, Best Buy Effect, Managed Care Growth Accelerate SNF-at-Home

Like many markets across the country, the Twin Cities in Minnesota are confronting a reduction in skilled nursing beds, which is forcing patients to remain in hospitals for longer periods of time — with skilled nursing-at-home gaining momentum as a solution to these discharge pressures. “The average length-of-stay on the hospital side is eight days […]

Mozart Healthcare Achieves Nursing Home Workforce Wins with ‘R&D’ Mentality, Owner-Operator Alignment

Two years after launching real estate investment and management firm Mozart Healthcare in 2016, co-founder Archie Shkop decided to start a skilled nursing operating company.  “I started realizing that as much as I knew operations, I needed to be in the thick of it with my tenants to understand the challenges they were facing,” Shkop […]

Cascadia Execs: Skilled Nursing’s Future Demands Better Operating Models, Not ‘1989’ Mindset

Last week, Cascadia Healthcare officially took over management of three facilities formerly operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, with the remaining six buildings in the transitioning portfolio scheduled to follow suit in April and May. The transition process is going smoothly, with each building presenting a “microcosm of opportunity,” Cascadia President and CEO […]

Omega, PACS Execs: Nursing Home Owners, Operators Must Overcome ‘Myopic’ Approach to Thrive in New Era

To build relationships that can weather hurdles and succeed in a “new era” for nursing homes, owners and operators should focus on how they can drive mutual growth over time, through symbiotic, creative deals generating long-term value. That’s according to executives with Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE: OHI) and Providence Administrative Consulting Services (PACS), who spoke […]

After Adding 21 SNFs, Optalis Leverages Scale to Innovate

The changing nature of the skilled nursing business has enabled Optalis Healthcare to gain scale, adding 21 facilities through three deals executed in the last year. “The business has changed a lot; it takes a lot more in terms of resource deployment,” Optalis CEO Raj Patel told Skilled Nursing News during an interview at the […]

Trilogy CEO: Clinical Initiatives Gain Momentum, Medicare Advantage Decisions Expected in 2023

Trilogy Health Services last week announced the appointment of the company’s first-ever chief medical officer, naming Dr. Andrew McNamara to the post. Appointing a CMO is just the latest step in Trilogy’s concerted, multi-year effort to elevate clinical care. The push can be traced to 2019, when Leigh Ann Barney became CEO. “People asked, what’s […]

Skilled Nursing Sector Faces Defining Moment to Shape New Medicaid Models

The skilled nursing industry is facing a defining moment that could determine the future of Medicaid reimbursement, with a new model emerging that ties increased dollars to facility performance. “I doubt that we’re going to get another chance,” Zimmet Healthcare Services CEO Marc Zimmet said Tuesday at the annual eCap conference in Miami. This as […]

Skilled Nursing in Financial Squeeze, But Bullishness Builds for Sector’s Next Phase

Rising interest rates are inflicting pain on the skilled nursing sector, with tough discussions between capital providers and operators to come in 2023. But with more sophisticated operators serving higher-acuity residents than in the past, and Covid-19 changing perceptions of “stroke of the pen risk,” investors see an industry with attractive long-term prospects. “I’ve been […]

Nursing Home Providers Should Brace for Government Audits, Enforcement Actions Over Covid Relief Funding

Nursing home providers should expect more government scrutiny related to Covid-19 relief funding. This is one message from Matthew Murer, the health care, public policy and government investigations department chair for the national health care practice of law firm Polsinelli. “I think a lot of people are going to be surprised by audits of CARES […]

[Updated] CMS to Publicly Post Disputed Nursing Home Citations, Tighten Antipsychotic Oversight and Penalties

With reporting from Shelby Grebbin and Amy Stulick The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a plan to publicly display survey citations that nursing homes are disputing, as well as new policies related to antipsychotic use and related penalties. Currently, disputed citations are not posted to Care Compare. This will change starting […]