SavaSeniorCare Expects to Cease Operations by Early 2023

After divesting of its sizable portfolio over the course of several years, SavaSeniorCare will cease to exist as a company once its last five nursing homes transition to other operators, which the company expects to occur by the end of January 2023. The end of Atlanta-based Sava marks another sea change in the skilled nursing […]

OIG Chief: Nursing Home Quality, Safety is ‘My Top Priority’

Improving nursing home oversight and quality will be “top priority” for the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), as the Biden administration pushes ahead with its reform initiatives. “My top priority is propelling meaningful improvement in the quality and safety of care in the more than 15,000 Medicare- and […]

Why a Nursing Home Case Heard by SCOTUS Could Have Sweeping Implications 

Larger implications surrounding a nursing home case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 8 has both operators and civil rights activists anxiously awaiting a decision. For SNF operators, the case could determine whether state-owned nursing homes are shielded from federal lawsuits. Far-reaching questions regarding Medicaid beneficiaries and their rights in federal […]

California SNF Rebuffs Closure After City Officials, CMS Reach Deal

After facing closure and revoked federal dollars, one of the largest nursing homes in the country this week had a change in fortune. Officials agreed to grant San Francisco-based Laguna Honda Hospital & Rehabilitation an extended reprieve to keep its doors open and funding flowing. Updates follow negotiations between the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid […]

3 Nursing Home Legal Issues to Watch in 2022 and Beyond

As a flurry of regulations and mandates descend upon the nursing home sector, such changes could create legal obstacles, and suggest yet another difficult and onerous year for providers. Staffing mandates, the aftermath of the end of the public health emergency (PHE), Covid liability and the PREP Act, all create “existential threats” for skilled nursing […]

SCOTUS Balks At Hearing Nursing Home Arbitration Rule Case

The nation’s highest court has declined to weigh in on a case involving a federal arbitration rule that nursing home industry groups argue places “burdensome” requirements on facilities. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition on Monday for a writ of certiorari in the case of Northport Health Services of Arkansas, LLC v. Department of […]

As Nursing Home SCOTUS Case Looms, Flood of Briefs Support Plaintiff

A case to determine if state-owned nursing homes are shielded from federal lawsuits – to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in November – received more than 20 amicus briefs last week. The flood of briefs filed in September are in support of Ivanka Talevski, wife of former nursing home resident Gorgi Talevski, suing […]

Nursing Home Operator Sued Over Covid Death Asks Supreme Court to Hear PREP Act Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will have to decide whether it will hear a nursing home Covid-19 wrongful death case involving the PREP Act — potentially interpreting the federal statute for the first time. California-based nursing home operator Glenhaven Healthcare asked the Supreme Court to consider taking up the case in late August after the 9th […]

Massachusetts Skilled Nursing Operator Settles With DOJ Over Opioid Admission Denial Allegations

The federal government this week announced a settlement with a Massachusetts operator over allegations that the company discriminated against residents with opioid use disorder (OUD). Next Step Healthcare, which operates 21 SNFs in the state, allegedly denied admission to 548 patients who were prescribed medications for OUD, according to a statement issued by U.S. Attorney’s […]

Nursing Home Operators Stung by ‘Significant’ Insurance Cost Increases

Many nursing home operators said their property and personal liability insurance premiums increased between June and July – sometimes dramatically. In fact, professional liability premiums rose “significantly,” according to 30% of nursing company respondents to the latest National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) Executive Insights survey. Lack of competition in the insurance […]

Nursing Home Operators Could Face Fines, Citations Tied to Arbitration Agreements as Part of New CMS Requirements

Nursing home providers could be cited by surveyors for noncompliance – and issued civil monetary penalties – as part of updated guidance tied to arbitration agreements published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This approach is subject to scrutiny and appears to contradict previous federal efforts to make arbitration readily available to […]

Nursing Home Advocacy Group Pushes Back on ‘Unattainable’ Staffing and Spending Law

As the nursing home workforce emergency worsens across the country, aging services organizations are pushing back on “illegal and unconstitutional” staffing laws. LeadingAge New York, for example, on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn two state mandates: one requiring a minimum staffing ratio and another which dictates where nursing homes may direct their funds. […]

Covid-Related Nursing Home Lawsuits to ‘Skyrocket’ With Protections on Shaky Ground

While federal protections like the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act provide at least a partial legal shield to nursing homes, an influx of Covid-related lawsuits could be coming down the pipeline. Litigators are looking to test nursing homes’ legal protections as lawsuit filing deadlines for the first few months of the pandemic arrive, […]

Federal Judge Orders Recruitment Agency, Nursing Homes to Pay Nurses Over $3M to Settle Trafficking Allegations

A recruitment agency in the Philippines, Sentosa Nursing Recruitment Agency, and two nursing homes agreed to pay more than $3 million to 184 nurses after a class action lawsuit was filed due to unpaid wages and violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The two nursing homes, Golden Gate Rehabilitation & Health Care Center LLC […]