The federal government on Wednesday revealed more details about the prioritization of nursing homes that will receive point-of-care testing kits for COVID-19 under an ambitious new plan, with 600 set to be sent this week. In addition to targeting facilities with at least three or more confirmed or suspected cases in the last week, as […]
Department of Health and Human Services
Skilled nursing operators and infectious disease experts have expressed optimism about the government’s push to send point-of-care testing tools and test kits to facilities across the U.S. But they also emphasize that it’s one only tool among many that SNFs need to be deploying as they try to keep COVID-19 out of their facilities. The […]
The federal government’s top Medicare official this week emphasized a desire to work closely with leaders in the nursing home landscape, pointing to industry feedback as a key driver behind a sweeping plan to send point-of-care COVID-19 testing units to the nation’s nursing facilities. “CMS obviously has a regulatory function with nursing homes,” Centers for […]
One day after the federal government announced an ambitious plan to send point-of-care testing units for COVID-19 to all of the nation’s more than 15,000 nursing homes, leaders in the space expressed cautious optimism — while often emphasizing that they have more questions than firm answers. Starting next week, the Department of Health and Human […]
The federal government on Wednesday revealed more details about its ambitious effort to send point-of-care COVID-19 testing units and kits to every nursing home in the country, indicating that each facility will receive 400 tests to start with — and thereafter be able to secure subsequent tests for under $25 apiece through a “special concierge […]
The federal government on Tuesday announced an ambitious plan to send point-of-care tests directly to every nursing facility in the country. But unless the building has a specific waiver allowing staffers to perform tests, the facility will not receive the tests, SNN has learned. Operators must secure a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waiver in […]
UPDATE, July 15: CMS and HHS on Wednesday provided more information about the initial roll-out of this program. Click here for the latest. The federal government on Tuesday announced that it would send point-of-care testing supplies for COVID-19 to all skilled nursing facilities in the country, starting next week, according to Admiral Brett Giroir, Assistant […]
A pair of Republican lawmakers called on the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to investigate five states that ordered nursing homes to take in COVID-19 patients from the hospital. A pair of Republican lawmakers called on the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Inspector […]
The federal government on Tuesday announced a long-awaited tranche of financial relief for providers that rely solely on Medicaid reimbursements, setting aside $15 billion. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will release the funds to Medicaid providers that did not receive payments from the initial $50 billion in general allocations from the Provider […]
Lawmakers from the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Energy & Commerce called out the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for its delay on disbursing relief funds to Medicaid-dependent providers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in a letter sent to HHS secretary Alex Azar this week. “As the chairs and ranking […]
A nursing home in Georgia operated by Winder Nursing was the recipient of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) first citation related to COVID-19. The nursing home delayed reporting the work-related hospitalization of six workers who were infected, according to a May 18 citation first covered by ABC News. The hospitalizations occurred as early […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Sunday released its “COVID-19 Strategic Testing Plan” to Congress, and argued that a targeted testing strategy “based on diagnosis, contact tracing, and smart surveillance” is the best solution to allow the country to emerge from pandemic-inducted lockdowns. The report, which was released as part of requirements […]
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) watchdog arm added multiple probes of nursing homes’ response to COVID-19 to its list of top 2020 priorities, with a particular focus on infection control. The HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) last Friday announced two coronavirus-related investigations as part of its ongoing 2020 Work Plan […]
The nation’s largest organization representing nursing homes on Wednesday pegged the one-time cost of testing each resident and staff member in the United States at $440 million, arguing that substantially more funding for long-term care will be necessary to meet more stringent testing mandates. The American Health Care Association arrived at that figure by adding […]
Citing the steady release of grant money from the dedicated health care stimulus fund, the federal government on Sunday announced the immediate suspension of a program that provided advances of Medicare Part A and B reimbursements. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) halted the Advance Payment Program and indicated its intention to “reevaluate” […]
Skilled nursing operators may have woken up Friday morning with another unexpected cash injection from the federal government, but nursing homes that rely primarily on Medicaid are still waiting for their share of the pie. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday began sending out the last $20 billion chunk of a […]
The Senate this week passed an updated stimulus bill that will load an additional $75 billion into a dedicated relief fund for health care providers, though nursing homes that rely on Medicaid for income are still waiting for the first distribution from the pot. The $2 trillion CARES Act set aside $100 billion for the […]
The federal government this week announced that hospitals and other Medicare-reimbursed health care providers will receive the first disbursements from a $100 billion emergency COVID-19 stimulus fund. For skilled nursing facilities that primarily derive their income from Medicare, the windfall could be significant. “We estimate an allocation of about $1.5 billion to skilled nursing based […]
The Department of Justice this week announced the creation of a specialized task force targeting “grossly substandard care” in nursing homes, with both criminal and civil penalties on the table for owners and operators. About 30 individual facilities across nine states are already under investigation, the DOJ revealed in announcing its new National Nursing Home […]
The operator of an ambulance company that primarily served nursing homes and other outpatient care sites has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding Medicare and Medicaid. Joseph Valdie Kimble, the former operator of the Longview, Texas-based Tiger EMS, must also pay more than $750,000 in restitution to the […]
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