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 […]
Saber Healthcare Group is expanding its footprint with the acquisition of 27 skilled nursing facilities from Ciena Healthcare across Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina, the company announced Monday. The expansion, which is one Saber’s largest transactions, deepens its presence in the three states. It includes seven facilities in North Carolina, four in Virginia and 16 […]
After its bankruptcy sale, Genesis Healthcare executives honed in on the evolution of its management team, investing in administrators and directors of nursing differently, while doubling down on its locally structured “pod model,” which has been in development for the past two years. Jake Komin, chief performance officer for Genesis views the bankruptcy as a […]
Managed Medicaid hasn’t always worked well for nursing home providers, with some states modifying or scrapping their programs due to payment lags and higher costs – the latest casualty being Indiana’s program. And yet, managed Medicaid is expected to spread across the nation. Lessons from failed experiments with Indiana – and experience with problems in […]
Legacy Healthcare’s near-term growth strategy is centered around fine-tuning internal systems and processes to adjust for the ‘constant battle’ of the two Rs – reimbursement and regulation. And so, amid expectations of tighter scrutiny on private equity investment and legislation that could squeeze margins, the organization is betting big on AI to alleviate the operational […]
As Cascadia Healthcare continues to expand its footprint and diversify its service lines, the company is doubling down on a decentralized, field-driven operating model that empowers individual facility leaders to make business decisions locally rather than from a corporate office. That philosophy has shaped everything from vendor relationships to growth strategy – and remains central […]
Balancing the needs of seasoned and new clinicians in the nursing home sector, along with prepping them for residents with more complex cases has been a huge challenge for clinical leaders lately. This challenge comes on top of survey backlogs that, in some cases, span several years, resulting in outdated star ratings that unfairly mar […]
The skilled nursing sector entered 2026 in a different environment than it faced a year ago, one rife with opportunities to expand its footprint and service lines, as well as redefine its business model. While operators continue to face reimbursement pressure, managed care complexity and workforce challenges, they have also been able to move away […]
Skilled nursing acquisitions always produce a lot of chaos and add plenty of variables – technological, staff-wise, operational and sometimes emotional – for the facility team post-acquisition. Finding the right facility leaders, and weeding out those that no longer fit in with quality care and growth, is a make or break task for any transition […]
Provider networks can be powerful tools for improving negotiating leverage with managed care organizations while also benefiting care coordination. But their effectiveness depends on local market conditions and the structure of the network, as well as a chosen reimbursement structure that makes sense for the market population. Meanwhile, nursing home operators in the middle of […]
