Even as COVID cases rise, nursing homes losing ground on vaccinations
By
Josh Henreckson
Jul 05, 2024
Residents of long-term care facilities are falling further behind in their COVID-19 vaccinations — with the gap being driven by a combination of logistical challenges and increasing skepticism from the...
CMS, Ohio governor approve funding increase for transition to private nursing home rooms
By
Josh Henreckson
Jul 05, 2024
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services gave its approval for a state program increasing Medicaid reimbursements for nursing home providers that offer...
Reconsider ‘extreme’ expansion of civil monetary penalties: LTC coalition to CMS
By
Josh Henreckson
Jul 02, 2024
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should withdraw a planned civil monetary penalty expansion, a coalition of leading long-term care organizations argues in a new joint letter to the agency’s...
Proposal to make NHSN reporting permanent bypasses provider concerns
By
Josh Henreckson
Jul 01, 2024
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would expand and extend COVID-era respiratory illness reporting requirements under a provision of the recently proposed Home Health Prospective Payment System...
Federal agency issues nursing home staffing brief highlighting CNA numbers gap
By
Josh Henreckson
Jul 01, 2024
The majority of US nursing homes currently meet at least two of the three criteria of the federal nursing home mandate, according to a new brief from federal health officials. Only about 30% meet the requirements...
Meet Danuta Jurgowska, 2024 Spirit Award winner
By
Josh Henreckson
Jun 28, 2024
Danuta Jurgowsky, registered nurse at Preakness Healthcare Center in Wayne, NJ, is a Spirit Award winner in the 2024 McKnight’s Women of Distinction awards program.
Building a coveted ‘destination workplace’ requires diverse investments, active listening to staff:...
By
Josh Henreckson
Jun 27, 2024
Faced with today’s complex array of financial, staffing and regulatory challenges, senior care operators need to rely on a broad range of solutions, a panel of experts said
Cigna fights nursing homes’ pending sale, citing potential for broken agreements
By
Josh Henreckson
Jun 27, 2024
Cigna has filed a legal motion objecting to the sale of a group of nursing homes as part of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The major insurer claims the sale would give the providers “carte blanche”...
Lawmakers say CMS should ban Medicare Advantage’s use of AI to deny care
By
Josh Henreckson
Jun 26, 2024
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should consider banning artificial intelligence from being used to deny Medicare Advantage coverage pending a “systematic review,” a group of 49 congressional...
SNF staffing challenges need solutions to benefit entire healthcare continuum: experts
By
Josh Henreckson
Jun 25, 2024
The hospital backlogs of elderly Medicare and Medicaid patients that spiked sharply in 2020 are likely here to stay unless innovative solutions are implemented in post-acute care and other rehabilitation...