Future Leader: Kandis Poovey, Vice President of Culture & Engagement, Ignite Medical Resorts

The Future Leaders Awards program is brought to you in partnership with PointClickCare (BHB, SHN, SNN) and Homecare Homebase (HHCN, HSPN). The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the future of behavioral health, home health, hospice and palliative care, senior housing and skilled nursing. To see this year’s Future Leaders, […]

While More is Needed, Operators are ‘Generally Pleased’ With 4% Increase in SNF Final Rule

Nursing home operators had a mixed reaction to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final payment rule for 2024. While some operators said that they were generally appreciative of the 4% increase in Medicare reimbursement, they are also calling for more help and understanding from federal agencies in tackling the workforce crisis – […]

Medicare Rules Create Barrier to SNF Care for Cancer Patients, Burden Facilities with Costs

Concerns about lack of skilled nursing access for cancer patients, as well as oncology-related costs borne by skilled nursing facilities, have prompted operators to call for action from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Several nursing home professionals raised this issue in comments to CMS’ proposed Medicare payment update for 2024. One oncology […]

CMS Releases Optional State Assessment for MDS Switch

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday dropped the eagerly anticipated optional state assessment (OSA) for nursing homes, as a supplement for operators to fill out in states still transitioning to the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM). If a state decides not to transition to a PDPM-based Medicaid case mix with the […]

Nursing Home Providers Enter Staff Training Phase for MDS Switch, Concerned About Agency Workers and State Variation

As the skilled nursing industry steadily moves toward an Oct. 1 deadline for changes to the Minimum Data Set (MDS), operators are stressing the importance of training staff to help accurately code under the new system, a byproduct of the switch to the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM). While details of the most notable shift […]

‘Slightly Better Than Expected’: Skilled Nursing Operators, REIT CEOs Pleased with Medicare Bump — but Inflation Still Battering Sector

The net increase of Medicare Part A payments by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) was generally welcomed by nursing home providers and analysts, who said the federal agency seems to be empathetic in mitigating the impact of inflationary pressures confronting the nursing home industry. On Monday, CMS proposed its payment rate update […]

Sabra, LTC Properties Execs: Skilled Nursing Faces ‘Slog’ in 2023, High-Acuity Care an Opportunity

The coming year will be “a bit of a slog” for skilled nursing, but operating and financial headwinds should ease over the course of 2023. That’s the viewpoint of Rick Matros, CEO of Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA), which owns 270 skilled nursing and transitional care properties, along with senior living, behavioral health and […]

Executive Outlook 2023: A New Playbook for Skilled Nursing

Over the last two years, skilled nursing providers have faced a pandemic and a labor crisis. As 2023 dawns, leaders across the industry are taking stock of their changed organizations and a reshaped business environment, and are preparing to execute strategies formulated in the COVID crucible. As Signature HealthCARE CEO Joe Steier puts it: “Every […]

REIT Moves Drive a Reordering of the Skilled Nursing Operator Landscape

Skilled nursing operators should anticipate further distress in the coming months and into 2023, which will likely result in even greater divides among providers. The winners and losers already are being sorted, as the latest round of real estate investment trust (REIT) earnings made clear. And unsurprisingly, strong regional operators are leading the pack. Welltower […]

Medicare Advantage’s Steady Growth Has Nursing Home Operators Moving in ‘Radically Different Directions’

While so many nursing home trends have been altered by the pandemic, one has interestingly stayed in line with pre-pandemic statistics: Medicare Advantage’s (MA) growth trajectory. MA is still expected to cover 52.9% of all Medicare beneficiaries by 2031, according to Fred Bentley, managing director at ATI Advisory. Bentley spoke about Medicare’s evolution and its […]

REITs Gain Dealmaking Edge, Will Pursue Prized Skilled Nursing Operator Relationships

Real estate investment trust (REIT) dealmaking for the rest of this year and into 2023 will largely be driven by the desire to deepen existing or secure new partnerships with skilled nursing operators that have “weathered the storm exceptionally well.” That’s according to Michael Segal, executive managing director and partner at Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate […]

Future Leader: Shawna Rainey, Vice President of Clinical Reimbursement at Ignite Medical Resorts

The Future Leaders Awards program is brought to you in partnership with PointClickCare. The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the next decade of senior housing, skilled nursing, home health and hospice care. To see this year’s future leaders, visit https://futureleaders.agingmedia.com/. Shawna Rainey, vice president of clinical reimbursement at Ignite […]

Industry Leaders Split on Whether Skilled Nursing’s Future Should Include Separate Short, Long-Term Care

There has been an increasing call to separate long-term and short-term care in the nursing home sector as acuity rises and facilities take on more specialities, all while facing a staffing shortage. Academics, finance leaders and some operators agree such a separation would be a positive for residents — and maybe even help the staffing […]

Inside the Forces Driving Skilled Nursing Valuations in 2022

Many investors have not shied away from the skilled nursing industry in spite of the ongoing labor shortages, rising costs and looming federal regulations consuming operators — and they don’t appear to be doing so anytime soon. Private buyers have continued to buy up the overwhelming majority of available assets, closing roughly $1 billion in […]

Odds Are Against Texas Operator Growth As Federal Reforms, Chronic Underfunding Compound

Federal reforms — on top of chronic underfunding in the state — has Texas-based Cascade Health Services fearing that certain facilities will be left at a disadvantage as the operator looks to grow regionally. Permanent Medicaid rate increases could be a start, Cascade CEO Ron Haney told Skilled Nursing News, but facilities in Texas will […]