The federal government on Wednesday issued an alert to nursing home operators and residents, urging extreme caution during the impending holiday season — and compelling providers to warn families about the risks of taking residents out of facilities for off-site gatherings. Notably, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not change its rules […]
The two U.S. senators who last year released a “secret” list of nursing homes under consideration for inclusion on a formal list of facilities with major quality issues are now calling for expanded oversight of poorly performing skilled nursing facilities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey, both of […]
The federal government has talked a big game about shifting toward value-based payments for Medicare and Medicaid providers, but fee-for-service reimbursements have remained a primary force governing operations in the post-acute and long-term care sector. COVID-19 has subtly shifted that dynamic, however — especially in the field of telemedicine, which has seen skyrocketing adoption rates […]
Invesque Inc. (TSE: IVQ.U) this week reported significant COVID-19 strains on a pair of its post-acute care tenants, with the skilled nursing landlord taking steps to reduce its exposure to Symphony Care Network and reporting no revenue from Bridgemoor Transitional Care. The real estate investment firm will either sell or transition operations at half of […]
Successfully taking the reins of a nursing home chain during the COVID-19 pandemic may seem like an insurmountable challenge, but Kevin Morris sees only opportunity ahead — both for his company, BaneCare Management, and the industry as a whole. It’s just up to the leaders within the industry to chart a better and safer path […]
The steps taken by regulators to cut red tape for skilled nursing facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic have been extremely helpful in stabilizing operations, and the financial support from various rounds of stimulus funds has kept balance sheets steady. But with COVID-19 surging again in many parts of the U.S. and occupancy seemingly flatlining, the […]
When the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) overhauled the way Medicare reimburses care provided in skilled nursing facilities, the federal government attempted to put the focus on the care needs of patients — and in doing so, incentivized facilities to capture patient conditions more thoroughly and add to their clinical specialties. At least, that was the […]
Nursing home giant Genesis HealthCare (NYSE: GEN) is in active talks with its financial backers about several potential restructuring options amid ongoing COVID-19 financial strains, CEO George Hager indicated Monday. “We have initiated discussions with select capital partners to analyze a number of restructuring alternatives,” Hager said on the company’s third quarter earnings call with […]
If there’s been one constant in 2020, it’s been uncertainty — and the post-acute and long-term care landscape has seen more than its fair share. For operators and the residents they serve, that murkiness has taken the form of shifting mandates, questions about reopening their properties to vital visits from family and friends, and the […]
In the years just prior to the arrival of a global pandemic that uniquely affects skilled nursing facilities, many providers were interested in expanding their role in the provision of care by moving into the insurance field. And even though the toll of COVID-19 has sent costs spiraling for those operators who made the leap […]
SavaSeniorCare on Tuesday announced a plan to transfer the operations of 48 skilled nursing facilities and assisted living properties in eight states by the end of next year, as the Atlanta-based operator looks to pivot to a more regional footprint in the wake of the pandemic. “The current state of the world brought on by […]
As cases climb across the country, community spread will send increasing numbers of counties into the so-called yellow and red zones — in turn, requiring more and more skilled nursing facilities to test staffers according to the September guidelines from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). As of the most recent CMS data […]
While many sectors of the U.S. need a successful vaccine to truly recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is especially paramount for skilled nursing facilities, Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association (AHCA), said on Friday. Parkinson made that point during a guest appearance on the third-quarter earnings […]
Even as COVID-19 surges across the U.S. heading into fall, The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) expressed confidence that its model of local leadership can weather the storm — and provide significant operational and financial returns. Despite facing a surge of COVID-19 over the third quarter in some of its largest states — Texas, Arizona, and […]
Earlier this year, skilled nursing heavyweight The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) raised eyebrows when it announced the return of about $110 million in federal coronavirus relief, citing record earnings in the second quarter despite the then-new pandemic. But the San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based operator wasn’t done, setting another record in the third quarter and on […]
With a presidential election less than a week away and a pandemic still raging out of control in many parts of this country, the post-acute and long-term health care landscape finds itself on the brink of what could be both a brutal and potentially transformative winter. A shift in power in Washington could bring new […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working with the Department of Defense and various distributors to build a tracking system for nursing home orders of new COVID-19 test kits — and the supply for two of the major devices in the government’s nursing home testing initiative “far exceeds the demand from nursing […]
The world of third-party rehabilitation was braced for a change in the skilled nursing setting when the Patient-Driven Payment Model, the Medicare reimbursement overhaul that took effect last year, effectively removed therapy as the driver of payment. A few months into that new landscape, the world itself was upended by a global pandemic — one […]
The final report from the Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes contained plenty of ideas on how to keep residents and staff safer should COVID-19 resurge or if another pandemic hits the United States. While some of the onus falls on the federal government, nursing home operators must also raise the bar […]
Staffing, a long-standing thorn in the side of skilled nursing operators even before the COVID-19 pandemic, has emerged as one of the most critical elements in how facilities manage an outbreak and navigate the current public health emergency. But it would be hard to tell that fact by the pay certified nursing assistants (CNAs), who […]
