The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) filed an objection to Orianna Health Systems’ bankruptcy plan, bringing the case into unsettled legal terrain. U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox this week argued that HHS and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have the ultimate control over the legal issues surrounding the transfer of […]
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) has a new director. Adam Boehler, founder and former chief executive officer of home health provider Landmark Health, was named CMMI director — a position that also comes with the title of deputy administrator — by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Azar has […]
More than 60% of outpatient therapy claims filed over a six-month period didn’t meet Medicare’s requirements — a figure that has a key government watchdog agency concerned. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) looked at a representative sample of 300 Medicare therapy claims filed in the final […]
A pair of United States senators asked new Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to focus on developing alternative payment models for Medicare — while moving away from traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare. “As the largest purchaser of health care in the United States, the federal government needs to send a strong signal that paying […]
If Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar has his way, the health care consumer of the future will select providers the way they currently decide where to eat or which knockoff iPhone charger to buy. “Imagine a day when health care delivery in the United States functions the way other parts of our economy […]
A group of 12 Democratic U.S. senators slammed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in a letter sent last week, claiming that its leadership’s decision to ease regulatory restrictions on nursing homes has put seniors in danger. “We write with deep concern over a string of actions by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid […]
On first glance, the Department of Health and Human Services’ new guidance on personal religious beliefs might not appear to affect the long-term care industry. Years from now, however, it could play an integral role in the way SNFs operate and staff facilities. When the government rolled out its two-pronged approach last week — establishing […]
Skilled nursing operators can breathe a little easier as the second phase of the new Requirements for Participation takes effect this week: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has delayed penalties for several of the new requirements. For the next 18 months, CMS won’t take enforcement action — in the form of civil […]
President Donald Trump tweeted Monday morning that he would nominate Alex Azar, a former executive with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The nation’s largest skilled nursing provider association stands ready to work with Azar, the group stated, while others raised some concerns about what his nomination could mean […]
Arbitration agreements between skilled nursing operators and residents have become a key battleground in the long-term care space, as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks to roll back an Obama-era regulation that would have banned them. But the fight over arbitration clauses — which prevent parties from seeking legal remedies from disputes […]
Department of Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price resigned from his post Friday amid an investigation into his use of private jets at taxpayer expense. The government spent more than $1 million for Price’s travel on private and military aircraft since May, according to Politico, which first reported on the secretary’s travel habits. Those […]
Nursing home complaints handled by state authorities rose by one third between 2011 and 2015 — even as occupancy at skilled nursing facilities declined slightly. In addition, a handful of states accounted for the majority of late investigations, according to a new data brief from the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the […]
As the state still reels from the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Florida’s two senators took steps to establish a national oversight committee for nursing home disaster preparedness. Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson this week filed legislation that would create a National Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters, a 15-member board that would help states implement emergency […]
Officials in the state of Kansas frequently took skilled nursing facilities at their word when following up on plans to fix certain deficiencies — a violation of federal requirements for SNFs that participate in Medicare and Medicaid. The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services only verified SNFs’ strategies to correct deficiencies 52% of the […]
Last year, a federal judge ordered the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to clear a growing Medicare appeals backlog by 2021. But an appellate judge last week overturned the order, claiming that the lower court didn’t fully consider whether such a project would even be possible under current law. The U.S. Court of […]
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