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 […]
Category: Compliance
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 […]
Nursing home advocacy groups and congressional insiders are reportedly exploring the reversal of President Biden’s nursing home staffing rule as a potential budgetary maneuver, according to news reports. Axios is reporting that there are currently discussions taking place on Capitol Hill regarding reversing the staffing rule in order to help pay for “a year-end health […]
Five states have enacted some of the nation’s toughest minimum staffing standards for nursing homes, and yet gaps in actual care persist, a new analysis released Friday reveals, raising questions about whether the federal staffing rule will in the end be able to achieve its intended goal. The analysis by KFF Health News, focuses on […]
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 […]
The new facility assessment requirements that federal agencies are expecting will guide decisions on staffing levels are also garnering concerns about potential administrative and financial burdens, particularly for smaller-sized nursing home chains. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) modified the existing requirements in late June, issuing expanded guidance to include metrics that are […]
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 […]
A severe ongoing shortage of inspectors has led to New York City nursing homes facing significant survey delays, reflecting a trend in the larger state and a wider nationwide crisis. As of June, about 73% of federally designated nursing facilities in the five boroughs of New York had not been inspected within the required 15-month […]
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,” […]
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is lending its voice to the fight against the minimum staffing mandate, and joining hands with nursing home organizations as well as a coalition of lawmakers to overturn the federal government’s rule. By sending a letter to lawmakers Monday, AHA boosted the bipartisan bid to halt the staffing mandate through […]
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, […]
The crisis involving patients languishing at hospitals awaiting discharge into appropriate post-acute care settings has shown little signs of abating. The root causes of these discharge delays are manifold, but chief among them are workforce shortages at nursing homes. According to experts at a webinar hosted by ATI, the discharge crisis is amplified by a […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its first enforcement guidance for the minimum staffing mandate, which will allow surveyors to assess nursing home compliance using facility assessments, although experts said little clarity was offered on key points of the provision. The provision on facility assessments was issued in Tuesday’s Quality Safety & […]
In the midst of the nursing home sector staging a legal fight against the federal government’s staffing mandate, an important consideration at play is the backlog of survey inspections that could significantly impact the attainment of exemptions from the minimum staffing requirements. It has been well documented that a shortage of surveyors has led to […]
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo testified Tuesday before a Congressional subcommittee about the state’s handling of nursing home patients during the pandemic, including a controversial directive that prevented residents from being denied admission based solely on their Covid diagnosis. The interview also follows a 2022 audit by the state comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, alleging […]
Planned power outages in response to wildfire threats are leaving some nursing homes in the dark – one facility in Boulder, Colorado was left without power for 28 hours. Generators kept running the facility’s oxygen machines, most refrigerators and freezers, hallway lights and Wi-Fi for phones and computers, according to a report originally from KFF. […]
Nursing home closures and bankruptcies continue among many states, putting pressure on existing nursing homes to take on extra residents even as the workforce shortage persists and challenging staffing requirements are on the horizon. The latest closure in Pennsylvania led to the evacuation of Mountain View Care and Rehabilitation Center residents on Friday, relocated to […]
Lawyers and other leaders in the nursing home sector believe the American Health Care Association’s (AHCA) lawsuit is strong, framed well and likely to succeed, with a decision possible by early 2025. An injunction from the plaintiffs – all 5-Star facilities located in Texas along with AHCA – regarding staffing rule’s implementation should follow in […]
Subscribe
Receive industry updates and breaking news from SNN.