As usual, there was plenty to learn at this week’s annual conference of the National Association Directors of Nursing Administration/Long Term Care (NADONA). The scorching mid-July Phoenix heat did not...
New survey shows Five-Star rating system’s flaws
By
Liza Berger
Jul 10, 2009
Many providers still are having a tough time embracing the new Five-Star rating system for nursing homes. A new survey shows that their concerns may be valid. Holleran, a national research and consulting...
CLASS Act receives president’s endorsement
By
Liza Berger
Jul 07, 2009
The CLASS Act has Obama’s back. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said as much today in a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)...
Revisiting housing and care for the mentally ill
By
Liza Berger
Jul 01, 2009
A story this week sheds new light on the challenge of providing care and housing for the mentally ill. As McKnight’s reported today, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, a mental law advocacy group,...
CLASS Act gets boost from CBO cost findings
By
Liza Berger
Jun 29, 2009
Well, the verdict is in, and at first blush, it appears positive. The Congressional Budget office has projected that the CLASS Act, a long-term care legislative proposal, would save $59 billion in direct...
The attraction of home- and community-based services
By
Liza Berger
Jun 25, 2009
You can’t ignore the signs. A new bill would allow states to use funds for home- and community- based services. A pending proposal would permit states to combine three separate HCBS Medicaid waivers....
What long-term care reform looks like to you
By
Liza Berger
Jun 24, 2009
It appears that Washington lawmakers are not the only ones thinking about how to improve healthcare. McKnight’s has been asking readers in its “Question of the Month” what their version of long-term...
Keeping an eye on Medicare
By
Liza Berger
Jun 18, 2009
As the healthcare reform discussion continues to swirl in Washington, it’s easy to forget there are other healthcare issues to talk about. One of those affecting long-term care community is a proposed...
CBO: judge and jury of healthcare legislation
By
Liza Berger
Jun 17, 2009
As lawmakers pitch their ideas about healthcare reform, there is one agency that is not so easily swayed by political rhetoric. That is the Congressional Budget Office. This public-sector think tank, which...
Letting Medicaid be Medicaid
By
Liza Berger
Jun 11, 2009
If a disability insurance plan offered by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) passes, it would change the profile of Medicaid, Larry Minnix, president and CEO of the American Association of Homes and Services for...