‘Astronomical’ Medicare Advantage Denials, Pre-Auth Issues Cause Outcry from Nursing Homes

The Medicare Advantage preauthorization process and denials of care are a growing concern across the continuum, and nursing home operators and advocates — as well as federal lawmakers — are pushing more urgently for change. Such concerns are not new, and already some action has been taken: the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) […]

FDA Grants Accelerated Approval for Alzheimer’s Drug, CMS Coverage at Issue

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, the second of a new category of medications. Given the high prevalence of dementia within nursing homes, any new treatments for Alzheimer’s or similar conditions would shape care and services that providers deliver. Nearly 50% of nursing home residents have a […]

COVID-19 Booster Shots Planned For A September Start

Operators hope that planned booster shots, distributed through a streamlined process, will help protect the skilled nursing community against the “twice as transmissible” delta variant, a phrase used by President Joe Biden in a press briefing Wednesday. The Biden administration announced plans to deliver COVID-19 booster shots directly to long-term care residents and staff eight […]