At surface level, the new Medicare payment model for nursing homes revolves largely around therapy, as the federal government works to realign incentives and prevent what officials claim to be a wave of unnecessary services. Speech, occupational, and physical therapy account for three of the five components of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), and providers […]
For each of the last several years, LindenGrove Communities has lost a total of $5 million to $7 million caring for long-term residents covered by Medicaid — a shortfall that began to drag on the non-profit’s other business lines, including short-term rehabilitation. And though the choice was difficult, LindenGrove president and CEO Linda Joel said […]
Joint replacements and orthopedic patients were once the bread and butter of the skilled nursing world, but as acuity rises and value-based care gathers momentum, it’s not a business SNFs can bank on having in the future. Instead, they have to be hyper-aware of the needs of their specific market and respond accordingly. For Symphony […]
Skilled nursing facilities are being pushed by both the health care system at large — and, more directly, their referring hospital partners — to improve outcomes and lower readmissions, while also saving money. To accomplish those aims, it’s essential for SNFs and hospitals alike to have a handle on their data — but that process […]
As the health care system continues to push skilled nursing providers in the direction of risk, the Ciena Group has relied on lessons learned from bundled payments as it looks at entering the world of Medicare Advantage. The fact that skilled nursing could not initiate episodes under the newest bundled payments model “pulled the rug […]
Depending on the state they’re in, skilled nursing facilities could jolt flagging finances by adding a behavioral health component to their lineup of services. But they have to proceed carefully. Such services can bolster reimbursement significantly, while also creating additional pressure on hiring, staffing, and programming, according to providers presenting at the LTC 100 conference […]
Less than a year has passed since the ink dried on health system ProMedica’s acquisition of skilled nursing operator HCR ManorCare, but the deal has already brought $70 million into its capital-starved post-acute operations this year — with more cash influxes where that came from. That level of reinvestment, which ManorCare plans to repeat each […]
Despite multiple quarters of record earnings and a stock price that dwarfs that of other publicly traded skilled nursing companies, executives at The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) said that investor skittishness over SNF assets played a major role in their decision to spin off its home health and senior housing business lines into a new […]
Ever since the government came out with its most recent model for bundled payments, acute care has been in the driver’s seat. Under the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced) program, hospital providers and physician leaders are the only ones who can initiate episodes of care. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services […]
As both government and private payers increasingly move toward value-based reimbursements, skilled nursing providers in particular have struggled to keep up — and shift decades-old operational patterns to suit the new reality. For OnPointe CEO Eric Tanner, the only way forward is by running headlong into risk, primarily by showing payers and hospitals how his […]
Timely physician visits will play a central role in effectively capturing resident conditions — and reimbursements — under the new Medicare payment model. But with doctors seeing relatively few incentive changes amid the shift to the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), skilled nursing operators must find ways to make physician collaboration as easy as possible. Medical […]
Generations Healthcare recently broke ground on a new skilled nursing facility in Temecula, Calif., one that will include 116 skilled nursing and rehab beds and 64 memory care and dementia-focused beds. That bed ratio in some ways reflects where Generations president and CEO Thomas Olds, Jr. sees the skilled nursing world going: toward sicker patients […]
Officials in Massachusetts successfully petitioned to have five skilled nursing facilities operated by the troubled Skyline Healthcare placed in temporary receivership. The receivership petition and order appointing the receiver, which the Massachusetts Office of Attorney General provided to Skilled Nursing News, was approved Monday by a Suffolk County Superior Court judge. KCP Advisory Group LLC […]
For many skilled nursing providers, the launch last week of the 2020 application period for the government’s flagship bundled-payment program was low on the list of priorities. After all, under the new Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced) model, nursing homes can’t be episode initiators, meaning hospitals and other acute-care providers are the […]
Increasing numbers of states have begun exploring managed Medicaid programs as a means of achieving savings as their populations age. But unless officials provide crucial oversight, skilled nursing facilities could find themselves under even worse financial pressures. It’s something that states and their legislators need to keep in mind as they weigh options for managing […]
Industry leaders had reason to cheer the federal government’s decision to boost Medicare rates for skilled nursing facilities, but the gain could end up only papering over the persistent reimbursement problems in the space. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week proposed a 2.5% increase to the Medicare market basket rate, a […]
Roughly 36% of skilled nursing facilities saw a drop in their overall star ratings after planned changes to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Nursing Home Compare system took effect on Wednesday. That’s according to a pair of analyses from the American Health Care Association (AHCA), a trade group representing nursing homes, and […]
The state of Illinois bases its Medicaid reimbursements for nursing homes on calculations that are years out of date, leading to financial pressures that have closed 20 facilities in the state since March 2014. That’s according to a new report commissioned by the nursing home advocacy group Health Care Council of Illinois (HCCI). Capitol News […]
With increased pressure to improve skilled nursing outcomes and advances in technology, telehealth providers have emerged as a key target of attention from operators and investors alike. But that investment won’t provide the intended returns if the workers at the building level don’t fully buy into an operator’s overall telemedicine strategy, according to a telehealth […]
Skilled nursing facilities could get an $887 million increase in aggregate payments in fiscal 2020 under a proposed rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday. CMS issued a proposed rule that would update the Medicare payment rates and quality programs for SNFs as part of its effort to more […]