With Medicare Advantage revenue “significantly lower” than fee-for-service reimbursement, a new Zimmet Healthcare Services Group analysis says, skilled nursing facilities need to weather today’s “reimbursement storm” in order to make it to the incoming wave of baby boomers that will need facility services. In the meantime, Zimmet suggests operators utilize facility data to improve MA […]
Category: Medicare Advantage
Of the two million patients admitted to nursing homes every year, an anticipated 35% could be diverted to home health care if the Choose Home Care Act of 2021 becomes law, according to Keith Myers, chairman and CEO of LHC Group. Myers, along with Visiting Nurse Health System CEO Dorothy Davis, spoke about the legislation […]
As Medicare Advantage enrollment continues to climb and operators look for a seat at the table, ProMedica Senior Care President Angela Brandt believes now is the time to recognize the role long-term care facilities can play in value-based payment. “We all have to get comfortable with where we add value for the health care continuum […]
The delta variant and staffing challenges have slowed occupancy gains over the summer, yet skilled nursing still saw an increase in occupancy for the sixth month in a row as of July. NIC MAP® Data, released by NIC MAP Vision, found occupancy increased 58 basis points from June to July to land at 75%. It’s […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made headway separating metrics changes in the past year-and-a-half, tying some to the pandemic and others to implementation of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM). John Kane, technical advisor and SNF payment team lead for CMS, helped the skilled nursing industry better understand the impacts of PDPM […]
Roughly 94% of Medicare beneficiaries want to receive post-acute care in the home rather than a skilled nursing facility, according to results of a Morning Consult poll released today. The poll was conducted on behalf of the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (PQHH), along with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). That’s […]
Value-based care management company AllyAlign Health last week announced it will offer two new co-branded Medicare Advantage plans to members of LeadingAge California, thanks to a partnership with the senior advocacy state group. The plans — institutional equivalent special needs plan (I-SNP) Align Thrive, and chronic conditions special needs plan (C-SNP) Align Connect — will […]
There’s a strong possibility that Medicare will move to mandate value-based payment models (VBP) for the nursing home industry in the years to come, according to industry executives. Dr. René Lerer and Brian Cloch, CEOs for Longevity Health Plan and Transitional Care Management, respectively, spoke at a panel on the future of VBP models during […]
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure noted higher participation in value-based payment models like Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) during a recent discussion with HealthAffairs, but also hinted that consolidation of such programs may be needed. “Too many models in too many places that aren’t coordinated with each other,” is how […]
Occupancy is still increasing month to month, but at a slower pace compared to earlier this year, according to a new data analysis from the data service affiliated with the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). From April to May the NIC MAP Vision report found occupancy rose 23 basis points to […]
As skilled nursing operators look for ways to build back hospital referrals, data shows that Medicare Advantage enrollment continues to climb, making some managed care experts wonder how smaller, traditional, single nursing home operators will be able to build a sustainable future. With Medicare Advantage enrollment now representing 46% of all 57.7 million eligible Medicare […]
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives this week introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen Medicare’s value-based care models and accountable care organizations (ACOs), among other alternative payment models (APMs). Doctors, hospitals and other providers make up an ACO — the group coordinates care for Medicare patients while limiting extraneous services and preventing medical errors. The […]
Ignite Medical Resorts, a short-term rehabilitation and nursing care provider that reimagines the traditional post-acute experience with “luxury resorts,” opened three new buildings during COVID-19 and has no plans of slowing down. The Illinois-based provider will look to build more respiratory programs and invest in in-house dialysis units coming out of COVID as it remains […]
Skilled nursing facility operators and others in the senior care industry with diversified service lines are in a better position to care for residents at this point in the pandemic — and in the future. Operators with a diverse payer mix also have an edge, long-term care experts told Skilled Nursing News. Broadly, operators have […]
The ultimate role skilled nursing facilities will play in the post-acute care continuum coming out of COVID-19 remains to be seen. Home-based care utilization has skyrocketed over the past year, partly due to favorable policies out of the Biden administration and shifting referral-source preferences. Meanwhile, most SNF operators continue to battle back from the sudden […]
Longevity Health Plan, one of the nation’s leading independent providers of Medicare Advantage (MA) institutional special needs (I-SNP) plans in the skilled nursing industry, announced this week that it will be expanding into Michigan next month. It plans to offer I-SNP plans across 16 counties in the state. “We are pleased to partner with forward-thinking […]
In a testament to the health care industry’s growing interest in value-based care models, AllyAlign Health has pulled in a new investment of $300 million led by global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA), the company announced Thursday. Richmond, Va.-based AllyAlign partners with long-term care providers to set up Medicare Advantage institutional special needs […]
After a year dominated by a global pandemic that proved especially deadly for the elderly, skilled nursing operators are navigating recovery thanks to the rollout of vaccines against COVID-19. But many operators are looking at not just how to return to normal, but how to build a foundation for the future after the pandemic. And […]
Skilled Nursing News was able to sit down (virtually) with Amy Kaszak, president of special needs plans for Virginia-based AllyAlign Health, to talk about current trends in the skilled nursing industry. Consolidation is on the horizon, Kaszak said, along with an increase in managed care, preventative services and home health supplemental options. AllyAlign Health was […]
The vaccine is working, especially in places where it is needed the most, according to a new study. “The vaccine is associated with decreased spread of SARS-CoV-2 in both residents and staff at nursing homes as well as decreased deaths among residents,” the study, published last week in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, […]
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