As the nursing home industry tried to digest a sweeping set of industry reforms proposed by the Biden administration on Monday, a Capitol Hill lawmaker got in on the action by proposing a bill to force private equity firms to disclose their ownership in facilities. Amid all these developments, one thing has become evident: the […]
Slow occupancy recovery and workforce shortages have created unprecedented challenges for the skilled nursing industry, with projected operating margins expected to stay in the negative for at least the next year. In fact, as many as 40% of nursing home residents could be “at risk” to be displaced as the sector’s median operating margin is […]
President Joe Biden pledged in his first State of the Union address Tuesday night that his administration would do its part to boost nursing home quality, specifically calling out private equity-owned facilities. “As Wall Street firms take over more nursing homes, quality in those homes has gone down and costs have gone up. That ends […]
The Biden administration’s announcement of expansive nursing home reform on Monday elicited varied responses from industry trade groups and advocacy organizations. Groups representing skilled nursing providers expressed particular concern that the reforms would impose stricter expectations without providing the needed resources to meet new mandates related to staffing minimums and other proposed requirements. The reforms, […]
Nursing homes that require testing as a condition of visitation must provide the testing options to do so, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) officials announced this week. CMS addressed the issue after receiving a flurry of questions on the matter from state officials and operators across the country. CMS also said COVID-19 tests […]
While it appeared that after the Biden administration’s health care workforce vaccine mandate was backed by the U.S. Supreme Court states were largely ready to give up their fight against it, governors in Virginia and West Virginia are making one final push to postpone it. In a letter sent to the head of the Centers […]
The nursing home sector appears to have picked up a few allies as it continues to look for ways to address price gouging from staffing agencies. In a letter signed on Monday, Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), and nearly 200 other members of Congress nationwide called on White House officials to investigate nurse […]
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to put pressure on an already strained skilled nursing industry in 2021. The next 12 months will be yet another test of resilience. Looking ahead to 2022, SNFs must stay nimble and inventive to not only survive but thrive. Private equity will continue to lead the nursing home transaction market pack, […]
With more long-term care provider organizations embracing Medicare Advantage institutional special needs plans (I-SNPs), the time might be right for skilled nursing operators to explore the potential benefits of expanding D-SNPs, or dual-eligible special needs plans. Special needs plans provide services to “special needs individuals” such as institutionalized individuals and people with severe or disabling […]
As more operators report admission holds and occupancy recovery delays due to rising labor costs, health care groups continue to target direct care staffing agencies as part of the problem as legislation is already being worked on in states like Pennsylvania, and nationally, to end the practice of gouging the Medicaid program and taxpayers. With […]
Though some nursing home owners had hoped to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind them by the end of 2021, coronavirus variants and the exacerbated staffing shortages have made that impossible for most heading into 2022. If this year has taught the sector anything, it’s that some threats to long-term care won’t be as temporary as […]
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) […]
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 […]
With the lowest vaccination rate among nursing home staff in the country, currently at 56.71%, Missouri’s health department is looking to provide operators some flexibility should they see a mass staff exodus ahead of President Biden’s vaccine mandate. The emergency rule, published on Friday, is meant as a precaution that will allow skilled nursing and […]
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 […]
With 14% of its workforce gone since the start of the pandemic, nursing home operators are constantly on the lookout for creative ways to bring in much needed caregivers. While some have looked overseas and advocated for an expedited visa process or immigration reform, other operators are calling on federal officials to step in and […]
Though home health care services and hospitals have seen their employment nearly recover to pre-pandemic levels, the same cannot be said for nursing homes. The sector has lost 221,000 jobs during the pandemic, or 14%, since March 2020, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data through October released last week. Mark Parkinson, president and CEO […]
While nursing home operators have largely relied on help from the federal government by way of the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) and other mechanisms to get through the COVID-19 pandemic, some leaders have found more success refocusing advocacy efforts to state legislatures for future funding. “When the stimulus bill came out and passed with trillions […]
As nursing homes continue to see a high turnover rate among registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants, operators continue to do anything they can to keep staff, including offering pay increases, incentives and educational benefits. Some leaders in the industry see the international staff pool as the sector’s best chance to get […]
While the long-term care industry continues to see labor shortage pressures impact day-to-day operations and, at times, hinder the ability to improve occupancy levels, the impending decline in the availability of family caregivers could present future growth for congregate care settings. “On the one hand it’s challenging to find that staff, but on the other […]
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