While the demand for nursing home MDS coordinators has always been higher than their availability, some organizations are beginning to see fruits from concerted efforts to stabilize this specialized role. MDS coordinators ensure accuracy of minimum data set (MDS), which in turn is evaluated by surveyors. With brand new survey changes going into effect Monday […]
Tackling rising acuity for Majestic Care goes beyond beefing up clinical teams amid a shortage of specialized roles. The Indiana-based provider has been responding to sicker patients in the nursing home space across local and regional settings, fine-tuning the provision of specialty services based on geography. High levels of support for clinical teams from the […]
Congress may cut Medicaid provider taxes for nursing homes as a part of budget reconciliation, significantly impacting the sector as many providers rely on this avenue of reimbursement for crucial services and resident resources. These taxes are a key funding tool: providers pay a fee, matched by federal dollars, to support state Medicaid programs. But […]
Private equity ownership in the nursing home sector, currently estimated at between 5% and 13%, may be higher and growing – a development that raises consumer concerns about resident harm and quality of care, especially in light of several high-profile bankruptcies in recent years involving PE-owned facilities. PE-driven bankruptcies have impacted residents, workers, and the […]
Changes to nursing home survey protocols — set to take effect April 28 — are putting a sharper focus on resident rights, documentation practices, and medication oversight. The revisions demand airtight documentation, particularly around discharge, behavioral health interventions and psychotropic drug use. Of the ten area changes due to take place, providers should pay the […]
Nursing homes are under increasing pressure to transform their businesses and care models to cater to patients with higher acuity, shorter stays, and tighter budgets. The challenge isn’t just recruitment of staff with the right skill set, but also building an infrastructure that supports ongoing staff development. And this, in turn, calls for greater investment […]
Financing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has become increasingly delayed, with growing queues for prospective borrowers in the nursing home sector. The backlog at HUD is growing as staff accept buyout offers amid a reshuffling of employees at the federal agency, which has been a focus of the Trump administration’s […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is once again delaying the deadline to file revalidation paperwork, moving it from May 1 to August 1. It’s a welcome relief for operators given that a vast majority of nursing homes haven’t completed the burdensome paperwork. Martin Allen, senior vice president of reimbursement policy at the […]
With termination notices ramping up for nursing homes on the Special Focus Facilities (SFF) list, operators and legal counsel close to the matter say the time is ripe for an overhaul of the program. For starters, the independent dispute resolution (IDR) process needs to be revised, and a more timely appeals process should be essential. […]
A strong overall outlook for skilled nursing is behind the rising appeal for asset-based lending in the nursing home sector, but distressed properties remain common in an environment with harsher and higher material citations and fines, according to risk assessment experts. After evaluating the quality of operator books, records, and management, advisors from health care […]
Abrupt termination notices related to Medicaid and Medicare certification for nursing homes on the Special Focus Facilities (SFF) list have picked up dramatically as of late February, often occurring without warning or giving facilities the chance to demonstrate improvement. As a result of these abrupt terminations, nursing homes on the list have closed, including 143-bed […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funding cuts – only temporarily restored by a federal court – would be detrimental to nursing homes in many states if made permanent. Pennsylvania, New York, California, Wisconsin and Minnesota are among the states named in a multi-state lawsuit, which aims to block the Trump administration from […]
After a federal judge in Texas vacated the nursing home staffing rule on Monday, operators are rejoicing, though some legal experts in the sector suggest the fight may not be over just yet. “This is a really strong decision on both prongs of the staffing mandate. It hits all of the relevant points as to […]
For nursing home providers, lean times demand extracting financial gains by not only using new service lines but also value-based care options more effectively, while thinking outside the box to apply multiple uses for technology currently being deployed. Nicole Kaufman, chief transformation officer at Genesis HealthCare, stressed the importance of clinical integration and deploying third-party […]
Therapy in nursing homes has been shaped in recent years by the shift to a patient-centered model, with providers pointing to staff shortages, reimbursement changes, and the influence of Medicare Advantage plans as factors making it harder to tailor programs. Certainly, higher expectations from therapy-based clinical outcomes is changing the therapy market landscape, said Brian […]
The Senate voted 53-45 today along party lines to confirm Dr. Mehmet Oz as the next Secretary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). During the hearings for his confirmation, Oz dodged questions related to the $880 billion Medicaid cuts within Congressional budget proposals, while also splitting hairs about nursing staff hours in […]
To sustain staffing gains, many nursing home operators are investing in specialized training, attractive wages, and career growth in order to compete better with others across the health care continuum, with many focusing on modernizing onboarding processes. Retaining certified nursing assistants (CNAs) has been problematic in many facilities, while the highly skilled role of MDS […]
Nursing home surveys – already an area of trouble given chronic underfunding – are set to fall into deeper turmoil amid massive workforce cuts and restructuring planned at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, former chief of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), expressed skepticism that the Trump administration’s […]
Budweiser. Hellman’s mayo. Doritos. Polaris Rehabilitation and Care Center. Someone watching the 2025 Super Bowl in the state of Wyoming may have seen commercials for all of the above during the game. The Polaris ads are instructive when considering larger marketing trends at play for nursing homes, including the push for “edutainment” and the need […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) restructuring plans announced Thursday could impact several departments serving the nursing home sector, leaving operators on edge. The department plans to cut around 10,000 full-time employees, including 300 at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), in the latest round of cuts. Combined with HHS’ previous […]
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