Brookdale, California AG Reach $3.25M Deal Over Alleged Nursing Home Data Reporting Fraud

Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) will pay $3.25 million to settle allegations that it submitted false nursing home staffing data to the federal government and improperly handled resident discharges, the California Attorney General’s Office announced late last week. The settlement agreement comes one year after then-California attorney general Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit against Tenn.-based […]

Nursing Home Staff Vaccine Rates Promising Ahead of CMS Deadline, But Boosters May Be a ‘Step Too Far’

As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccine mandate deadline looms this week, nursing homes across the country have stepped up to get their staff vaccinated in time – while still lagging on booster numbers. Nearly 85% of nursing home staff per facility are vaccinated, according to CMS data, and 87.3% of residents […]

CMS Issues Additional Vaccine Mandate Guidance for Nursing Homes

Surveyors will begin enforcement of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccine mandate for half the country this month.  That’s minus states under a federal court injunction temporarily blocking the rule, according to additional guidance issued on Dec. 28. Facilities with 80% or higher staff vaccination compliance, who also have plans to achieve […]

Most Read Skilled Nursing Stories for 2021

Several recurring topics crept up while chronicling Skilled Nursing News’ most-read stories of the year – occupancy, staffing, acquisitions and the industry’s place in value-based care – among others. Of course, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and subsequent mandate were top-of-mind the entire year as well. The Biden administration sought to boost lagging staff vaccine rates […]

Former Skyline CEO Charged with Medicaid, Tax Fraud

Former Skyline Healthcare owner Joseph Schwartz on Monday was charged with Medicaid and tax fraud – more than three years after the nursing home chain collapsed. The Arkansas Attorney General’s office charged Schwartz, who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., with eight counts of Medicaid fraud and two counts of tax fraud – all felonies – according […]

Massachusetts AG Appeals Toss of Case Against Nursing Home Leaders Over COVID-19 Deaths

The Massachusetts attorney general is appealing a state court’s decision to dismiss the charges against two former nursing home leaders related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorney General Maura Healy announced Tuesday that her office had filed a notice of appeal in Hampden County Superior Court involving the former superintendent and former medical director of Holyoke […]

CMS Suspends Vaccine Mandate, Appeals Court Injunctions

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has suspended its vaccine mandate for health care staff, including those who work in nursing homes, so long as court injunctions remain in effect. CMS announced the mandate suspension in a memo on Thursday, adding that it has appealed both court decisions and has filed motions for […]

10-State Injunction Buys Nursing Homes More Time on Vaccine Mandate

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on Monday issued a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, blocking the requirement for health care workers in 10 states. Nursing homes in Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota and New Hampshire won’t have to adhere to […]

Florida Federal Judge Says CMS Vaccine Mandate Remains in Effect For Now

A Florida federal judge will not temporarily pause the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccine mandate while the case is being litigated. This is the first time the CMS requirement for health care workers, including nursing home staff, has been weighed in on by the courts. Florida officials asked a U.S. District Court […]

[Updated] Federal Panel Rules Against Nursing Homes, Finds COVID-19 Lawsuits Belong in State Court

In an early blow to skilled nursing facilities, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against two nursing homes in New Jersey, finding the COVID-19 lawsuits should continue in state court. Negligence and wrongful-death lawsuits were initially filed in April 2020 in state court against Andover Subacute & Rehabilitation I & II by families […]

Omega SNF Tenant Gulf Coast Health Care Files For Bankruptcy

An operator with 28 skilled nursing facilities in Florida, Georgia and Mississippi has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing “significant fiscal challenges” stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Pensacola, Fla.-based Gulf Coast Health Care LLC reported in documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware that it has reached a proposed restructuring support […]

Federal Court Sides With CMS on Nursing Home Arbitration Rule

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave the green light to a federal regulation that allows nursing homes to use arbitration agreements with residents, but prevents them from making the agreements a prerequisite for admission. The court’s opinion, issued Friday by a three-judge panel, rejected arguments made by a group of nursing homes who […]

LTC Settles With Abri, Senior Care, Transfers 11 SNFs in Texas to HMG Portfolio

Real estate investment trust LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC) late Tuesday announced it entered into a settlement agreement with Senior Care Centers and Abri Health Services, collectively known as the “Lessee,” among others. The settlement — approved in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division — includes a one-time payment of […]

Genesis Settles With DOJ Over ADA Violation Allegations

Genesis HealthCare this week agreed to a settlement surrounding denied admissions for prospective residents prescribed medication to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). Nine Genesis skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) across Rhode Island and Massachusetts were accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Rehabilitation Act and Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act when they allegedly […]

Interface Rehab to Pay $2M in False Claims Act Settlement

Interface Rehab will pay $2 million to settle federal allegations of rehabilitation billing fraud, the Department of Justice announced on Friday. This announcement comes one year after the DOJ announced a $16.7 million False Claims Act settlement with Longwood Management Corporation and 27 individual affiliated skilled nursing facilities over its rehabilitation services. The $2 million […]

Monitoring Technology is on the Rise — SNFs Decide if it Helps or Hinders

As nursing home operators introduce more sophisticated monitoring technology to their facilities, the benefits of such tools sit on a knife’s edge. Monitoring platforms may help caregivers do more with less during a pandemic-exacerbated staffing crisis. It’s also possible that operators can open themselves up to potential litigation, depending on if they have the staff […]