The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) has emerged as a rare publicly traded skilled nursing powerhouse, with steady expansion across the country and persistently solid quarterly earnings numbers. But CEO Barry Port is hesitant to take the credit. Instead, he’s content to chalk up Ensign’s success to its legion of regional leaders, many of whom have […]
If Sen. Chuck Grassley has his way, a new oversight bill for nursing homes will be introduced this month — one that reauthorizes the Elder Justice Act and sets up new funding for various programs in the 2010 law, passed as part of the Affordable Care Act. Elder abuse is a long-standing issue for Grassley, […]
Skilled nursing operators, increasingly fed up with demands for lower lengths of stay from their managed insurance partners — with little to no savings to show for it — have moved to seize control of the premium dollar by becoming insurance entities themselves. The primary way they can do this, launching a certain subset of […]
When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) moved to allow Medicare Advantage plans to cover more options for care at home, skilled nursing providers could be forgiven for not paying much attention. It’s a move with more immediate impact to home care and home health companies, as well as senior living providers. Medicare […]
The new Medicare payment model for nursing homes has brought significant upheaval around therapy provision — an outcome that one prominent CEO in the space says therapy companies should have seen coming sooner. Given all of the warning signs from Washington and Baltimore — dating back to when the federal government was planning on implementing […]
News of therapy layoffs swept through the skilled nursing industry in the weeks after the implementation of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), and a new poll from Skilled Nursing News finds that more than 40% of operators and therapy vendors have made some kind of staffing reductions post-October 1. A little more than 43% of […]
Among the many unknowns of the new Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) is its effect on the types of patients coming into the skilled nursing facility. But one place to watch resident patterns is around the addition of ventilator services and care to facilities — especially if they haven’t offered those options before. Respiratory therapy — along with […]
For the past few public earnings calls, analysts have peppered executives at LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC) with questions about the ongoing bankruptcies of skilled nursing tenants Senior Care Centers and Preferred Care, which have proven to be long-running issues for the real estate investment trust (REIT). But with a plan in place to sell off […]
For nursing home owners and operators, having frank conversations about residents’ end-of-life intentions, and organizing the associated paperwork proactively, is a potential way to avoid unwanted hospitalizations and the sizable costs that come with it — especially if it’s not in line with the patient’s wishes. Nursing homes are faced with tough decisions when the […]
The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) acquired the operations of four skilled nursing facilities in Dallas, effective December 1, in addition to picking up the real estate and operations of another SNF in Mesa, Ariz. The four Dallas properties include the Crestwood Health and Rehabilitation Center, which has 112 skilled nursing beds and 72 assisted living […]
Robert Specht had spent years at the financial helm of companies in a variety of spaces, but he was a post-acute and long-term care newcomer when he accepted a crash course in the business: a consulting position for a 33-building senior housing and care chain in receivership. Working with Health Dimensions Group, the provider and […]
PruittHealth spent 2019 celebrating its 50th anniversary in the post-acute and long-term care space, but second-generation CEO Neil Pruitt, Jr. says his company — along with the rest of the industry — must focus on novel and creative strategies for surviving into the future. Pruitt sees potential in a variety of forward-thinking initiatives, from the […]
An operator with several skilled nursing facilities in the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing issues with its secured debt and — in chorus with other bankrupt operators across the country — problems with its leases. Cornerstone Healthcare Services operates 14 SNFs in the states of Washington, […]
Dialysis services have recently been highlighted as a major growth area under the new Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) — both financially and clinically — especially as reimbursements are recalibrated for higher acuity patients. In July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rolled out the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Choices (ETC) model, […]
Earlier this fall, a decades-old annual survey of nursing home finances revealed that for the first time, the median operating margin for the nation’s skilled nursing facilities fell below zero. While the statistics from consulting firm CLA weren’t necessarily surprising, given the micro- and macro-level challenges facing nursing home operators over the last decade, that […]
With intense attention on therapy cuts and reimbursement changes during the transition to the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) on October 1, operators and lead clinicians have focused on continuing education and training to remain financially sustainable amid this historic shift. SNN spoke to four therapy companies to see how operators and clinicians are faring […]
The first round of claims data under the new Medicare payment model for nursing homes shows that the majority of operators are seeing reimbursement boosts — while some are also making key billing mistakes that could result in missed payments for certain services. The average skilled nursing facility saw Medicare reimbursements of $614.96 per patient […]
The structure and finances of private equity investors in the skilled nursing space have come under the federal microscope, with two U.S. senators and a U.S. representative demanding answers from four major firms about their investment in nursing homes. Presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren, along with Sen. Sherrod Brown and Rep. Mark Pocan, sent strongly-worded […]
The skilled nursing world has become increasingly focused on gaining control of the premium dollar as a way to navigate a tangled thicket of payers. And while most attention has been on the Medicare Advantage model, one major operator sees opportunity in an arrangement that many SNFs dread: the accountable care organization (ACO). In its […]
There’s been significant attention focused on the potential for therapy reductions and reimbursement shifts amid the transition to the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) on October 1, but concerns may soon be shifting to another looming therapy change — this time under Medicare Part B. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed […]