Officials: More additions and rebasings of nursing home ratings to come
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 23, 2015
Nearly one-third of the nation’s skilled nursing facilities lost a rating star due purely to administrative changes Friday, when regulators also emphasized that more quality measures will be added...
Laws and policies in focus next week for LTC therapy and ancillary services providers
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 08, 2013
A keynote address by Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, will highlight opening day of the annual winter Legislative and Regulatory Conference of the...
Editor’s Desk: More ‘optional’ guidance: If they ask, you’ll provide
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 01, 2009
If there were ever any doubts that the “culture change” we’ve all heard so much about in recent years was really going to take hold, it’s time to put them to rest.
Nursing home administrators’ median annual salary rose 3.94% this year, the biggest leap in three years and the fifth straight increase of 2.95% or higher. The uptick raised administrators’...
Report: States headed for Medicaid funding upheaval
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 01, 2012
Regardless of whether states choose to expand Medicaid under healthcare reform law, they are facing huge fiscal crisis conditions, largely due to rising healthcare costs and government pension obligations,...
Federal court backs NLRB: CareOne illegally pressured union vote
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 16, 2016
A U.S. District Court has agreed with the National Labor Relations Board, ruling that a CareOne skilled nursing facility unlawfully influenced employees before a unionization vote.
Person-centered care pushing aside nonsense
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 06, 2017
I found it stunning when I recently read that more than a half million people had taken advantage of new Medicare coverage that pays for end-of-life discussions with their doctors. And there was hardly...
Cases subject to escrow
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 01, 2013
Federal regulators have expanded the use of escrow accounts so that as of this month, providers will be subject to their use for any kind of deficiency from a standard or complaint survey that draws a...
Washington owes Medicaid programs $4 billion, govs say
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 02, 2011
With federal lawmakers trying to figure out ways to cut expenditures, balance the budget and reduce the national deficit, funding to states — and healthcare providers in particular — has frequently...
Providers catch big break as MDS 3.0 gets one-year delay
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 01, 2009
Nursing homes have an extra year to prepare for MDS 3.0 after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services disclosed it would delay implementing the program overhaul until October 2010.