Timely physician visits will play a central role in effectively capturing resident conditions — and reimbursements — under the new Medicare payment model. But with doctors seeing relatively few incentive changes amid the shift to the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), skilled nursing operators must find ways to make physician collaboration as easy as possible. Medical […]
Executives from Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) have been largely mum about the company’s ongoing integration of HCR ManorCare’s skilled nursing facilities into its overall portfolio, but when pressed Tuesday, leaders hinted that the metrics are moving in the right direction. Occupancy at ManorCare SNFs has increased by more than 100 basis points, Welltower chief investment […]
For many skilled nursing providers, the launch last week of the 2020 application period for the government’s flagship bundled-payment program was low on the list of priorities. After all, under the new Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced) model, nursing homes can’t be episode initiators, meaning hospitals and other acute-care providers are the […]
Industry leaders had reason to cheer the federal government’s decision to boost Medicare rates for skilled nursing facilities, but the gain could end up only papering over the persistent reimbursement problems in the space. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week proposed a 2.5% increase to the Medicare market basket rate, a […]
Roughly 36% of skilled nursing facilities saw a drop in their overall star ratings after planned changes to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Nursing Home Compare system took effect on Wednesday. That’s according to a pair of analyses from the American Health Care Association (AHCA), a trade group representing nursing homes, and […]
The federal government on Wednesday signaled its intent to expand coverage options for Americans who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, though the states will largely be in the driver’s seat moving forward. In a letter to the 50 state governors from administrator Seema Verma, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) invited states […]
The trust fund that supports Medicare Part A coverage will run out of money to cover full benefits in just seven years, the federal government announced on Monday, with potentially devastating long-term effects for the majority of nursing home operators. The Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, which directly supports Medicare Part A benefits — including […]
Skilled nursing facilities could get an $887 million increase in aggregate payments in fiscal 2020 under a proposed rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday. CMS issued a proposed rule that would update the Medicare payment rates and quality programs for SNFs as part of its effort to more […]
When the largest independent physician group in the state of New York decided to move into the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model, it recognized post-acute as an area it needed to work on — and decided to include skilled nursing facilities in its plans. CareMount Medical, which is based in Mount Kisco, N.Y., […]
The federal government released a breakdown of strategies that accountable care organizations (ACOs) have used to successfully partner with skilled nursing facilities — a move that could indicate policymakers’ continued support of the care models. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a care coordination toolkit for ACOs that drew from focus […]
For at least 15 years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) failed to deal with gaps in the federal oversight of nursing home abuse investigations in Oregon, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined in a management report released on Monday — and officials want a review of state-level rules nationwide. CMS oversees […]
The leader of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday announced a “comprehensive review” of safety and quality standards for nursing homes, while also touting the progress made in recent years. “CMS is not waiting, and not settling for the status quo: I have directed my team at CMS to undertake a […]
The clinical condition and medical complexities of skilled nursing patients will drive reimbursement under the new Medicare system — giving physician groups that serve skilled nursing facilities the opportunity to have a major impact on the outcomes and success of both the patients and the facilities they serve. But it’s an opportunity they’ll have to […]
The leader of the federal government’s center for reimbursement innovation said he is considering bundled payment models where post-acute care providers could take the lead on care — but right now it’s only at the consideration stage. Adam Boehler, who leads the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), said that there has been significant […]
Though experts and federal authorities alike stress that the coming change to Medicare reimbursement shouldn’t affect the levels of rehabilitation provided to skilled nursing patients, the reality is that therapy is likely to evolve. That makes it all the more important for operator to clearly tie any changes in therapy provision to clinical needs and […]
Length of stay and readmission rates have risen to the top of most skilled nursing providers’ top watch lists, as pressure to lower both has increasingly affected their shot at appropriate reimbursements and slots in key partnerships. But a new study from New York University’s School of Medicine found that the readmission risk for certain […]
When it comes to the changes coming to Medicare reimbursement methodology, coding figures prominently in the discussion among skilled nursing providers. But while it’s important for SNFs to make sure staff education and training on that topic is up to date, there are several other components of reimbursement under the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) that […]
As they get ready for the Medicare Part A reimbursement system taking effect October 1, skilled nursing providers have a high degree of confidence in the preparedness of their interdisciplinary teams. But that confidence plummets when assessing the preparedness of their clinical teams, according to a new survey from the Plano, Texas-based Reliant Rehabilitation. The […]
]With the increased premium placed on preventing rehospitalizations from skilled nursing facilities, timely interventions from a doctor can potentially make a major difference. Between 2012 and 2014, about 10.4% of residents did not see a physician at all during their time in the skilled nursing facility, according to a study published Monday in the journal […]
With a new Medicare payment model for skilled nursing facilities just months away, operators who haven’t started planning for the changes are already months behind. Skilled Nursing News has been reporting on the new Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) since the day it was announced last July 31, and we’ve spent those eight months speaking to […]
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