Jimmo succeeds in getting Medicare coverage, two years after landmark case ended
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 31, 2014
Glenda Jimmo has reached a settlement with the federal government and will finally receive Medicare coverage for claims that were denied in 2007, which led her to file a class-action lawsuit over the so-called...
Proposed managed care rule could accelerate shift away from nursing home care, official suggests
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 30, 2014
Proposed regulations slated for early 2015 likely will affect how Medicaid managed care balances home- versus facility-based long-term care, news sources reported Wednesday.
Assisted living residents say ‘homelike’ setting not so important
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 30, 2014
Contrary to conventional wisdom, assisted living residents might not place a high value on how “homelike” their surroundings are, suggest findings out of St. Catherine University in St. Paul,...
Adjust residents’ hearing aids before they listen to music, researcher advises
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 30, 2014
Nursing home residents might get more enjoyment and therapeutic value out of music if they change hearing aid settings, recently published findings suggest.
FL hospice, nursing homes, hospital passed patients back and forth to juice profits, whistleblowers charge
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 29, 2014
Two Florida nursing homes and a hospital allowed a hospice company to provide free services in exchange for patient referrals, according to recently unsealed whistleblower charges.
Protein wafers help nursing home residents gain weight, fight pressure ulcers and diarrhea
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 29, 2014
Easy-to-chew protein wafers can help nursing home residents gain weight and reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers and diarrhea, according to findings recently published in Age and Ageing.
Hospitals skimping on palliative care consults before sending patients to nursing homes, researchers...
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 29, 2014
Hospitals often are not doing palliative care interventions with older trauma patients who go on to a skilled nursing facility, according to recently announced findings.
‘Improvement standard’ lives on, Medicare refuses to cover Jimmo herself
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 28, 2014
Medicare officials continue to cite an “improvement standard” as a reason for withholding benefits from Glenda Jimmo, whose 2012 legal victory was supposed to end this type of denial, Kaiser...
Face mask mandate dramatically increases healthcare worker flu vaccination
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 28, 2014
Making nursing home workers wear face masks if they do not get a flu shot is a highly effective way of increasing vaccination rates, statistics in New York show.
New hospice comparison tool uses government info, Washington Post calls for more transparency
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 28, 2014
In the absence of a hospice consumer guide from the government, The Washington Post has created one using available Medicare data. The newspaper unveiled the quality tool Sunday, in an article criticizing...