The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a clarification to its nursing home visitation guidance, just a few days after a some of the largest aging services organizations urged government officials to provide flexibility in limiting visitation due to the latest surge in COVID-19 cases. In a nursing home visitation frequently asked […]
Category: Medicaid
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 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 […]
Nursing homes were among the main health care providers to drive spending growth in 2020, along with hospitals and physicians, contributing to a 9.7% increase to reach $4.1 trillion. The acceleration in spending was caused by a 36% increase in federal expenditures, according to a report published by peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs, in response to […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday said it will be releasing $9 billion in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 payments to health care providers, including nursing homes. Payment will be disbursed later this week, HHS said in a statement. Small providers are expected to receive on average $58,000 – medium […]
When the federal vaccine mandate for health care workers went into effect before the latest court injunctions stopped it in its path, there was a time when Accura HealthCare CEO Ted LeNeave was going to have to lay off 1,000 unvaccinated workers companywide. Balancing what was initially issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid […]
Nearly a decade after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) established accountable care organizations (ACOs) in conjunction with the Affordable Care Act, the health care landscape has shifted even further toward a focus on outcomes and value. As recently as October CMS and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center (CMMI) […]
After a seven-month streak in occupancy gains, skilled nursing facilities experienced a decline from August to September. Despite decreasing 27 basis points to 75% in September, overall occupancy is still 355 basis points above its low point in January at 71.5%, according to NIC MAP data, released by NIC MAP Vision. “There remains cautious optimism […]
A federal judge in Louisiana issued a nationwide preliminary injunction Tuesday, freezing the start of President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers across the country. Judge Terry Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued the decision — which affects more than 10.3 million health care workers in […]
Marquis Health Services in early 2022 plans to launch a chronic illness initiative focused on nephrology, pulmonology, cardiology, pastoral, palliative and infectious disease services, in an effort to address what the operator considers gaps in post-acute and long-term care. Brick, N.J.-based Marquis is currently evaluating and qualifying facilities to participate in the initiative, according to […]
When Ivy Healthcare Group looks to expands its geographic footprint — as it is now coming out of COVID — that conversation always starts with reimbursement. After acquiring its first assisted living facility in 2018, Ivy Healthcare Group added its first skilled nursing facility in 2019 where it developed an affinity for the sector. It […]
As skilled nursing facilities work to build back hospital referrals lost during COVID, one way some are opening themselves up to new patients is by increasing their participation in managed care despite the tighter margins that come with it. With skilled nursing occupancy still below pre-pandemic levels, operators simply are no longer in a position […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is working on developing vaccine mandate guidance for surveyors, the government agency said during a stakeholder call last week. While the guidance is forthcoming, CMS is placing responsibility on state agencies to conduct safe surveys. Guidance will be relevant to surveyors within CMS, state surveyors and “non-nursing […]
Skilled nursing facilities may not receive their much-needed Phase 4 disbursement of Provider Relief Funds (PRF) until the new year, with disbursements delayed through January, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) said. Originally, skilled nursing operators expected to receive Phase 4 payments between mid-November and mid-December — and that timeframe has shifted to include […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday issued two updates regarding survey and visitation guidance — steps to address the backlog of complaint and recertification surveys, and revising visitation to include “all residents at all times.” CMS said it will assist state survey agencies (SAs) with resuming surveys that took a backseat […]
Ten states have sued the federal government this week in hopes of stopping a regulation that requires Medicare and Medicaid participating health care facilities, including nursing homes, to have all staff members fully vaccinated by early next year. The suit, filed on Wednesday by 10 states attorneys general in the U.S. District Court for the […]
Despite slower than recent monthly gains, skilled nursing occupancy still increased in August for the seventh consecutive month, according to the most recent NIC MAP® Data, released by NIC MAP Vision. Property occupancy rose 14 basis points from July to August, sitting at 75.2% — that’s a 378 basis point gain from January, NIC MAP […]
Medicare and Medicaid participating health care facilities, including nursing homes, will be required to have all staff members fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, according to an emergency regulation issued Thursday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS). The CMS regulation further states that facilities must establish a policy ensuring that staff have received […]
Medicare Advantage advocacy groups are concerned the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better reconciliation bill will, in expanding Medicare fee-for-service (FFS), disadvantage MA. Advocacy and research group Better Medicare Alliance (BMA) on Wednesday hosted Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Terri Sewell (D-Al.) to discuss the legislation further, and implications for the Part C plan under Build […]
Behavioral health has become an attractive — and sorely needed — service line for skilled nursing facilities, but operators often don’t have the resources for training, and reimbursements aren’t as good as serving higher acuity patients. Isolation tied to the pandemic, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) “crusade” several years ago to […]
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