CareTrust REIT (NYSE: CTRE) CEO David Sedgwick believes the nursing home sector is “too important to fail,” and is a vital part of the healthcare continuum. This indispensable quality is the main reason the REIT continues to invest heavily in the sector. Sedgwick cited his long connection to skilled nursing as well, dating back to […]
PACS Group (NYSE: PACS) reported a strong second quarter and raised full-year guidance, with executives sharing more details Wednesday on its 34-facility, multistate acquisition from Eduro Healthcare. Earnings momentum for the nursing home giant continued to be driven by operational improvements rather than acquisitions alone as skilled nursing investments remained a key priority, both through […]
Traditional skilled nursing environments remain highly institutional, characterized by visible nurses’ stations, medical equipment and hospital-like layouts. Peter van Kalkeren, COO of Skokie, Presbyterian Living, wants to change that. As Presbyterian Living prepares for measured growth while strengthening its existing operations, the Skokie, Illinois-based organization is updating its buildings to adapt its skilled nursing facilities […]
Mounting financial pressures among both Medicaid and Medicare payers, fragmented health care settings, and the growing use of value-based care as a cost-cutting measure are creating unique challenges and opportunities for nursing homes serving dual-eligible beneficiaries. Maintaining and evolving such plans will depend on how adept nursing homes are at providing strong data to demonstrate […]
Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE: OHI) acquired additional skilled nursing facilities during and after the second quarter, while also reshaping its operator portfolio through the transition of facilities from Ciena Healthcare to Saber Healthcare Group, executives said Thursday. Skilled nursing investment opportunities remain attractive for Omega, with executives saying that they expect a “material pick-up” in […]
CMS finalized its 2027 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) rule, increasing rates by 2.4%, but nursing home leaders say the shortened clinical data reporting window will increase administrative burdens. The agency’s decision is based on the final SNF market basket of 3.3%, reduced by a 0.9% productivity adjustment for an estimated increase […]
Nursing home operators may be in for a rude awakening Wednesday, when an update to the 5-Star Quality Rating System, requiring more points for ratings, goes into effect. That’s because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is increasing quality measure thresholds by one-half of the average improvement in QM scores. While thresholds to […]
ALIYA has spent the past several years transforming distressed skilled nursing facilities into higher-performing operations, but CEO Efriam Weinfeld said the company’s focus has recently shifted from rapid expansion to strengthening its existing footprint, including by giving facility leaders a greater ownership stake in their communities. “[Earlier] our mentality was to grow in order to […]
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are a growing presence in nursing homes and are expected to play an even more pivotal role in the years to come, with the role tied to survey outcomes, quality improvement initiatives and value-based care. The changing survey process, the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs and value-based care models like […]
Nursing homes are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline referral processing and case management, with the ability to reduce hospital packets to concise summaries in under a minute and cutting referral review times in half. Payer-provider relationships are expected to evolve as a result, with tech-supported documentation and care planning inspiring payer trust in […]
Avamere is making good on its plan to exit the skilled nursing business, with landlord Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA) announcing plans Tuesday to transition all 26 of its leased Avamere properties to new operators, including 22 that would be taken over by Cascadia Healthcare. The remaining four would be transferred to another existing Sabra tenant. It is unclear […]
The quality of clinical workers in nursing homes has improved in 2026 as more temporary workers have transitioned into permanent roles, driven by higher wages, better benefits and greater career opportunities, according to leaders at these organizations. At the same time, as the skilled nursing workforce has stabilized over the past year, major providers have […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is launching a new risk-based survey process to “modernize” nursing home oversight by focusing inspection resources where they are most needed while recognizing high-performing facilities, the agency said Thursday. The agency noted that the changes to the survey process are driven by limited funding for nursing home […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule this week jam-packed with reforms to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), ACO participation and the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). Overall, CMS proposed a 1.19% decrease in the PFS conversion factor for 2027, but providers unable to participate in PFS incentive programs, including […]
Artificial intelligence is helping nursing homes plug the “leaky buckets” in their Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs by identifying documentation gaps before they become survey deficiencies, denials or compliance issues. Instead of forming QAPI programs in reaction to surveys or audits, AI-driven QAPI assists back-office staff with intake and narrows down how clinicians […]
In dealing with Medicare Advantage pain points, skilled nursing providers are shifting their focus from resisting managed care to building stronger ties with health plans. This includes pruning unprofitable contracts, improving discharge planning, and some “soul searching” and concessions by each party as margins diminish for both health plans and providers. And while reimbursement pressures, […]
Ahead of a potential CMS proposed rule aimed at reducing administrative burdens across health care – including nursing homes – that could be released in August, providers are urging the agency to standardize surveyor training, Medicare medical reviews and Minimum Data Set requirements. They argue the changes would improve consistency, reduce administrative burdens and allow […]
It’s no secret that successful institutional special needs plan (I-SNP) partnerships depend on aligned incentives between the nursing home operator and insurer, trust between parties and organizational buy-in. However, achieving that cohesion is another matter. On the insurer’s side, co-designing benefits with providers and maintaining data transparency may be outliers when it comes to larger […]
The rise of payviders — integrated payer-provider organizations with significant scale and market influence — is shifting the balance of power across healthcare, including skilled nursing. Payviders are expected to continue growing in certain markets, particularly in areas where Medicaid programs encourage or require provider-owned health plans. However, their success is not guaranteed, and many […]
Clinical success in the nursing home can be broken down into its parts – namely, performance on quality measures. And while QMs have expanded to account for a range of areas, reducing hospital readmissions and antipsychotic use remain top priorities for clinicians. There are some throughlines here, clinical leaders told Skilled Nursing News, with interdisciplinary […]
