Abrupt termination notices related to Medicaid and Medicare certification for nursing homes on the Special Focus Facilities (SFF) list have picked up dramatically as of late February, often occurring without warning or giving facilities the chance to demonstrate improvement. As a result of these abrupt terminations, nursing homes on the list have closed, including 143-bed […]
Hooper Lundy & Bookman
A federal judge for the U.S. District Court of Northern Texas on Monday threw out the federal nursing home staffing mandate, while just Thursday the Trump administration defended the staffing rule in a brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for Northern […]
The nation’s largest labor representative of nursing home caregivers filed a brief opposing the lawsuit against the federal staffing mandate for nursing homes, arguing that the new requirements will help address the national shortage of staff at facilities. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) represents over 150,000 nursing home workers in 23 states. Last year, […]
Federal agencies are honing in on ownership transparency and corporate-level compliance, most recently with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) citing concerns about certain practices that allow nursing homes to hide profits. OIG’s latest guidance focuses on the practice of “tunneling,” which refers to the misrepresentation or concealment of profitability in payments to related parties, […]
Following President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, leaders in the nursing home space say there likely won’t be any change to the federal minimum staffing mandate or lawsuit given an ongoing strong connection with unions. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to run in his place. On Monday, Harris […]
A Supreme Court decision on Friday could significantly weaken federal agencies’ authority to regulate industries, including powers of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), with wide implications for the recently finalized federal minimum staffing rule for nursing homes. The Supreme Court’s decision to discard the long-standing so-called Chevron doctrine is a “game changer,” […]
Lawyers and other leaders in the nursing home sector believe the American Health Care Association’s (AHCA) lawsuit is strong, framed well and likely to succeed, with a decision possible by early 2025. An injunction from the plaintiffs – all 5-Star facilities located in Texas along with AHCA – regarding staffing rule’s implementation should follow in […]
Imagine a nursing home resident with dementia falls and needs surgery, but there is no one to approve the care plan or foot the resulting bill, putting the nursing home in a bind. The responsibility usually falls upon family members, but given the increasing trend of an aging population without kin, this situation is becoming […]
In an upset for the nursing home industry, the U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to hear a bid from California operator Glenhaven Healthcare to avoid a lawsuit under federal immunity provisions. The case hinged on the scope of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act), which authorizes the federal government to shield […]
Larger implications surrounding a nursing home case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 8 has both operators and civil rights activists anxiously awaiting a decision. For SNF operators, the case could determine whether state-owned nursing homes are shielded from federal lawsuits. Far-reaching questions regarding Medicaid beneficiaries and their rights in federal […]