Following states like Illinois and New York, Connecticut is the latest state to introduce a bill aimed at transforming staffing and requiring transparency changes among area nursing homes. Proposed changes would apply to the more than 200 nursing homes across the state. One change involves boosting minimum staffing hours from 3 to 4.1 per person […]
Category: Compliance
Violations linked to Florida nursing homes have doubled in the last four years, according to an investigation by the Tampa Bay Times. Last year, Florida nursing homes were cited 83 times for putting their older adult residents at risk of immediate danger, and more than half of the serious violations involved staff shortages or insufficient […]
Preparations for Minimum Data Set (MDS) changes vary from state to state, raising questions about how Medicaid reimbursements will be determined as the clock ticks down to the Oct. 1 start date. The key issue is the removal of Section G, which is used to measure the functional status of residents, from the nursing home […]
Pushing nursing homes to allocate more money to increase staffing levels will not necessarily achieve the goals of the proposed minimum staffing standard unless aided by other regulatory interventions, according to a new study. The study, published in Health Affairs, examined spending and staffing data from more than 12,000 nursing homes and looked at the […]
A Maryland court case could have expansive implications for Medicaid reimbursement policies related to nursing homes. A law firm specializing in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, sb2 Healthcare, has brought a case on behalf of 21 Maryland operators to address the denial or nonpayment of Medicaid claims without affording appeal rights for residents who have been […]
Following the Biden administration’s plans to end the public health emergency (PHE) on May 11, leaders at Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) are bullish that state assistance will create a soft landing. Ensign CEO Barry Port has seen operators in the sector bolstered by enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding during the pandemic; this federally […]
In an effort to make nursing home ownership information more transparent and readily available to the public, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) started compiling ownership data on Care Compare. But, the agency’s web-based tool falls short of transparency and ease of access goals, according to a study published by the U.S. Government […]
The gap between current skilled nursing occupancy and pre-pandemic occupancy is “99%” due to lack of staff, and addressing the sector’s workforce crisis is clearly the top priority for 2023. That’s according to Phil Fogg Jr., president and CEO of Marquis Companies and chairman of the American Health Care Association. Milwaukie, Oregon-based Marquis owns and […]
In a move long-awaited by skilled nursing providers, President Joe Biden on Monday announced the public health emergency (PHE) will end on May 11 – a month after the current extension expires. The PHE first was declared in 2020 as Covid-19 was first sweeping across the country and was most recently renewed on Jan. 11, […]
Major changes to the Minimum Data Set (MDS) later this year will have “huge ripple effects,” but skilled nursing leaders are still struggling to understand the full implications given a lack of information. This is the perspective of Joel VanEaton, EVP of post-acute care regulatory affairs and education at Broad River Rehab. “All of my […]
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 […]
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker earlier this month signed an omnibus health care bill with some good news for nursing homes in the state, delaying fines tied to the state’s minimum staffing requirement for two-and-a-half more years. Pritzker’s decision gives those in the sector a glimpse into how a federal staffing mandate mightbe received and potentially […]
As a federal minimum staffing standard looms over the nursing home industry, operators and their advocacy organizations look to learn from existing state mandates to better understand how things will play out on a national stage. New York is providing a cautionary tale at the moment, with a mandate exacerbating access to care, industry professionals […]
Nursing home residents who were not up-to-date with recommended COVID-19 vaccines had a 30% to 50% higher risk for contracting Covid compared with residents who were up-to-date with the vaccines, according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Despite how successful that was, there really hasn’t been a […]
As climate change increases the scope and severity of hurricanes and storms, nursing homes in hurricane risk zones may need to re-evaluate their emergency preparedness status. A study published in JAMA Geriatrics found that the association between exposure to hurricane-related inundation and nursing home emergency preparedness differs considerably across the Coastal Atlantic and Gulf regulatory […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed Tuesday that it is currently reviewing a year-long study to determine “policy direction” and cost implications of its proposed federal staffing mandate. The study includes potential barriers to and unintended consequences of staffing recommendations, Jean Moody-Williams said during a call to stakeholders. Moody-Williams serves as deputy […]
As the federal staffing minimum mandate proposal and study is due to be revealed in a matter of months, some state leaders are calling on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to rethink the mandate’s “one-size-fits-all” approach. Thirteen senators across nine rural states last week issued a letter addressed to CMS Administrator Chiquita […]
A federal watchdog agency is calling for “significant changes” to nursing home operations and oversight in light of new data on Covid-19 infection rates. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) calls on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to take action in a report issued Thursday. More […]
More partnerships seem likely between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and aging services organization LeadingAge – both entities looking to their All Hands on Deck Campaign as a future model. Collaborations to improve staffing issues, burnout and nursing home quality were mentioned by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, who joined LeadingAge members […]
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 […]