About one in four for-profit nursing homes may not have complied with federal requirements regarding infection preventionists, according to an audit from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The federal watchdog agency found that, out of a 100 for-profit facility sample size, 17 potentially didn’t comply with the requirement that the infection preventionist complete […]
OIG
A majority of discharges of mentally ill patients from nursing homes are initiated by facilities due to dangerous behaviors, and perhaps many of these patients should never have been admitted in the first place given “the challenges” at nursing homes, according to the Office of Inspector General (OIG). OIG’s review issued Wednesday suggests that of […]
Nursing facilities were among six provider types with the most patient abuse and neglect convictions tied to Medicaid than other provider types in 2023, as a whopping 841 criminal and civil patient and abuse complaints related to the sector – topping all other categories – are still open to investigation. There are 238 open nursing […]
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is recommending that the federal government bolster its support to nursing homes – including through policies that help strengthen the workforce – in order to improve quality of care. In its latest report, which draws upon lessons learned during the pandemic, OIG lays forth a set of five […]
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will be auditing nursing home survey practices this year with results expected in 2025, following concerns that third-party contractors may not have sufficient oversight in the space. OIG suggested closer scrutiny of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulatory practices when it came to surveys, given […]
A staggering number of nursing homes reported challenges in meeting the care needs of their residents during public health emergencies and natural disasters due mostly to inadequate staffing, with transportation, communication and infection control and prevention also being among key areas hampering these efforts. This is according to the latest report issued Wednesday by the […]
Moving ahead with its reform initiatives to make nursing home ownership more transparent, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday began posting names of affiliated owners and aggregate data related to staffing and other metrics for ownership groups. The agency made the information available on Nursing Home Care Compare and data.cms.gov; consumers […]
Medicare overpaid physicians serving in facility settings during a two-year audit period – about $22.5 million more for over a million claims. That’s according to an audit conducted by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and published this week. Generally, Medicare pays practitioners for physician services separately – and a higher amount – compared […]
At least one or more nursing home deficiencies weren’t accurately reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), according to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). A report from OIG based its findings on a random sample size of only 100 nursing homes – there are 15,377 nursing homes nationwide. Based on […]
As federal entities continue to call for significant changes to nursing home operators and oversight through surveys, Arizona appears to be the first state intent on outsourcing this crucial tool. The legislature in Arizona may let nursing homes and assisted living facilities be surveyed by a third party to conduct annual and complaint surveys – […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has decided to take action on transitions in care – specifically Medicare Advantage (MA) plans diverting care to home health instead of skilled nursing – after years of skilled nursing industry and consumer feedback. CMS last month took steps to address the trend with a proposed rule […]
A federal watchdog agency is calling for “significant changes” to nursing home operations and oversight in light of new data on Covid-19 infection rates. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) calls on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to take action in a report issued Thursday. More […]
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) watchdog arm added a probe of skilled nursing residents who had potentially preventable hospitalizations in its list of priorities over the next year. The HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently announced an additional investigation as part of its 2022 work plan — specifically focusing its […]
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) watchdog arm added a probe of nursing homes’ Medicare payments to related parties in its list of priorities over the next year. The HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) last week announced an additional investigation as part of its 2022 Work Plan — specifically focusing its […]
Nursing home-initiated discharges require a closer look as “inappropriate discharges” may be on the rise, according to a report released by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Overall, OIG isn’t aware of how many residents have experienced facility-initiated discharges from nursing homes, much less which […]
The federal government’s top health care watchdog last week announced a plan to investigate whether nursing homes are following rules around discharges, specifically citing media reports about improper evictions from facilities. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) added a probe of facility-initiated discharges to its formal work […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should be doing more to enforce proper staffing levels at nursing homes, while providing more detailed information about nurse coverage hours to the public, the federal government’s top health care watchdog found in a new report. About 7% of the nation’s nursing facilities failed to meet one […]
The federal government’s top health care watchdog agency added a pair of new probes into the nation’s nursing homes to its already busy slate of long-term care investigations for the coming year. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) last week rolled out two long-term care investigations — […]
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 […]
Encore Rehabilitation Services on Friday publicly agreed to pay $4 million to settle federal allegations that the contract rehab provider violated the False Claims Act. The Department of Justice had accused the Farmington Hills, Mich.-based rehab operator of “causing three Michigan skilled nursing facilities to submit false claims to Medicare for rehabilitation therapy services that […]
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