With all the changes that have swept the skilled nursing industry over the last decade, one of the classic investment models in the space may need to evolve with the times. “I think that the REIT model is dead,” Robert Hartman, founder of Symphony Post Acute Network, said during a Monday panel discussion at the […]
Fresh off a successful Series A funding round, a telehealth company that built its platform around serving rural skilled nursing facilities sees growth ahead in urban markets — as well in serving other post-acute providers along the continuum. TapestryCare last week announced the completion of a funding round led by the New York City-based Sopris […]
The new fee-for-service Medicare model absorbed much of the oxygen around nursing home payment reform in 2019, but 2020 — as well as the years beyond — will bring a slew of alternate payment pressure to the post-acute sector. Over the next two years alone, 95% of post-acute operators will find themselves in new payment […]
Early analyses of the new Medicare payment model for nursing homes indicate that operators may be pulling in more money than the federal government intended — leading to widespread speculation that adjustments could be coming sometime in 2020. American Health Care Association (AHCA) president and CEO Mark Parkinson agrees with the idea that the Patient-Driven […]
The federal government on Monday announced the appointment of Brad Smith, a health care and insurance industry veteran, as the next head of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). Smith, previously the chief operating officer at insurance giant Anthem’s diversified business group, will additionally serve as senior advisor for value-based transformation to Department […]
As skilled nursing facilities work to establish their position in an increasingly value-based health landscape, many are looking at the world of Medicare Advantage as more than a pressure point for billing. They see it as an opportunity to take control of the premium dollar, moving into the business of providing insurance for their patients. […]
Skilled nursing operators, increasingly fed up with demands for lower lengths of stay from their managed insurance partners — with little to no savings to show for it — have moved to seize control of the premium dollar by becoming insurance entities themselves. The primary way they can do this, launching a certain subset of […]
When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) moved to allow Medicare Advantage plans to cover more options for care at home, skilled nursing providers could be forgiven for not paying much attention. It’s a move with more immediate impact to home care and home health companies, as well as senior living providers. Medicare […]
Medicare Advantage, a frequent source of headaches for skilled nursing operators, remains overwhelmingly popular among seniors, according to a new poll — and its growth has come even as many enrollees remain unaware of their options when they turn 65. About 94% of seniors with Medicare Advantage plans reported being “satisfied,” a poll commissioned by […]
Special Medicare Advantage plans for long-term nursing home residents have emerged as a significant growth opportunity for operators in the space, but state governments around the country may not necessarily be on board. In fact, states may see Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) as directly in opposition to their goal of shifting residents away from […]
Medicare Advantage plans are rapidly expanding the supplemental benefits recently approved by the federal government, with 116 plans offering more than one of these services for the 2020 contract year. Those supplemental benefits provide more options for care at home for beneficiaries — and could potentially represent paths away from the skilled nursing setting. In […]
Despite the challenges, skilled nursing facilities have succeeded at setting up their own specialty Medicare Advantage plans — and the strategy represents a key potential weapon amid the rise of alternative payment models. Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) remain a small part of the overall Medicare Advantage landscape, according to a panel discussion at the […]
On paper, a skilled nursing facility starting its own specialty Medicare Advantage plan sounds like an easy decision: In an era of tight reimbursements, staffing pressures, and length-of-stay declines, why not control the payment source that so frequently vexes them? But according to René Lerer, the calculus for Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) just isn’t […]
A non-profit health plan and a care coordination company in the Minneapolis area teamed up with almost 80 senior care locations to offer a Medicare Advantage plan specifically tailored for adults in long-term care, assisted living, and memory care settings. The institutional special needs plan (I-SNP), Medica Advantage Solution PartnerCare, will be available for January […]
President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order asking top federal officials to explore a wide variety of Medicare Advantage expansion efforts, including a call to more closely align the rates paid by MA plans and traditional fee-for-service Medicare. Among the order’s provisions is a request for Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary […]
Skilled nursing providers looking for a simple answer to how managed care plans will react to the new Medicare payment model will likely have to face an inconvenient truth: It’s complicated. Private Medicare Advantage insurers didn’t have to follow the old Resource Utilization Group (RUG) model when deciding how to reimburse for skilled nursing services, […]
The Trump administration continued to cheer on the growth of Medicare Advantage plans Tuesday, with the nation’s top Medicare official touting the wider array of options available to beneficiaries next year. American seniors will have 600 additional Medicare Advantage plan choices next year, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Seema Verma announced in […]
Skilled nursing operators frequently decry Medicare Advantage plans’ focus on lower reimbursements and shorter lengths of stay, but a group of lawmakers claims that insurers in the space are spending far too much money — and potentially putting their beneficiaries at risk. A group of six U.S. senators, all Democrats, wrote a forceful letter to […]
As payers and hospital networks increasingly treat skilled nursing facilities as just one stop along an overall episode of care, operators in the space have received a variety of messages about how to survive: Bring data, get to know referral partners’ problems, demonstrate your worth. But a leader at a major Philadelphia-area hospital network took […]
Despite a quarter-over-quarter drop, national occupancy at skilled nursing facilities inched upward in the second quarter of 2019 as compared to last year, even as Medicare Advantage revenues took a slight tumble. The nation’s nursing homes sat at 83.3% full during the second quarter of the year, up 0.5% from the same period last year, […]