Majority of skilled nursing providers used EHRs in 2016, report shows
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Sep 08, 2017
More than half of skilled nursing facilities used electronic health record technology last year, according to new federal data.
Report: Nearly 20% of SNF nursing assistants live below poverty line
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Sep 07, 2017
Close to 20% of nursing home assistants are living below the federal poverty line, a result of low wages and part-time positions, according to a new report.
Preferred SNF networks help hospitals reduce readmissions faster, study finds
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Sep 07, 2017
Hospitals that use a preferred skilled nursing facility network have been found to reduce their readmission rates faster than hospitals that don’t, new research shows.
Hospices earning high scores on newly released ratings
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Sep 06, 2017
Hospice providers are showing impressive scores on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ new Hospice Compare website — but those high grades have led some to question the site’s efficacy.
CMS surprises — and doesn’t — with pay model changes
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Sep 06, 2017
There were surprises mixed with an utter lack of the unexpected in August when federal officials made bold moves away from certain mandatory care and payment models.
Court drops backlog order
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Sep 06, 2017
The Department of Health and Human Services will have another shot at explaining why it believes a four-year timeline for clearing the current Medicare appeals backlog is “impossible,” thanks...
Sepsis beats out joint replacements as costliest, most common hospital discharge
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Sep 06, 2017
Sepsis cost the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services $6 billion in fiscal 2015, making it the most expensive condition or procedure among inpatient discharges, according to new data.
Warning comes with sharp rise in hospitals holding ownership links to post-acute care
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Sep 06, 2017
The percentage of hospitals with shared ownership or investor links to a post-acute care provider jumped from 25% in 2005 to nearly 50% in 2015, a new Health Affairs study shows. That sharp increase could...
CMS suspends surveys, allows providers to exceed bed capacity in states hit by Hurricane Harvey
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Sep 06, 2017
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is extending some flexibilities for Medicare providers in Texas and Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Administrator Seema Verma said on Saturday.
Kindred scores $519 million in first closing of skilled nursing exit
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Sep 05, 2017
Kindred Healthcare has sold off the first batch of skilled nursing facilities as part of its exit from the sector, the company announced on Thursday.