Report predicts ‘bright future’ for nursing homes — with caveats
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 20, 2018
Despite falling occupancy and mounting Medicare payment pressures, a national consulting firm says some providers are poised to benefit from the changing industry by 2020.
Researchers: Campaign against antipsychotics may have led to rise in riskier drug use
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 20, 2018
Instead of decreasing drug use, prescribers looking to treat behavioral issues among dementia patients merely may be shifting from antipsychotics to mood stabilizers.
Georgia man given 2 years in nursing home death threat case
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 20, 2018
A Georgia man charged with threatening five nursing home workers after his sister’s death has been sentenced to two years in prison, prosecutors announced Friday.
Congress looks ready to ignore MedPAC, make its own Medicare reform
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 19, 2018
Even as the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission called for cuts to skilled nursing in its semi-annual report to Congress this week, lawmakers appeared ready to shape payment reform themselves.
Louisiana notifying 16K nursing home residents they could be forced out in funding fight
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 19, 2018
About 60,000 elderly or disabled Medicaid recipients in Louisiana are being told they should expect to lose their benefits in July, and advocates say more than a quarter of them could be forced out of...
Illinois Gov. scouting buildings to replace Veterans’ Home plagued by Legionnaires’ outbreaks
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 19, 2018
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) wants to buy a new nursing home and expand the state’s existing campus for veterans in Quincy.
More empty beds: Medicare patients further weaken demand for skilled nursing
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 16, 2018
Medicare beneficiaries are spending fewer per-capita days in skilled nursing facilities since 2009, according to a new analysis released Thursday.
104-day strike nets nursing home employees a 20-cent raise, health insurance concession
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 16, 2018
Workers at Christian Care Home in Ferguson, MO, have approved a new labor contract that calls for across-the-board raises following a 104-day strike.
MACPAC pushes Congress to streamline state shifts to managed care
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 16, 2018
In a report issued Thursday, MACPAC urged Congress to make transitioning to managed care easier for states — one method the commission suggested could improve efficiency within the Medicaid system.
Also in the News for Friday, March 16
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 16, 2018
County OKs happy hours for nursing home residents — just in time for St. Patrick’s Day … Using multiple pain relief methods beats opioids for hip replacement patients … Study: Demand...