Senate Finance Committee to discuss inclusion of long-term care in healthcare reform today
Mar 25, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee is planning to meet today to hear arguments in support of including long-term care services and supports in an overarching healthcare reform strategy.
ONE DAY TO GO: Medicare, Medicaid face drastic cuts under new administration, McKnight’s Online...
Mar 24, 2009
Under President Obama’s budget plan, Medicare and Medicaid spending would be slashed by up to $295 billion over the next 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated.
Bill would grant states money to pay for background checks for nursing home employees
Mar 20, 2009
(Editor’s note: In an earlier version of this story, we reported that providers would be responsible for paying for fees associated with employee background checks. That is not necessarily the case....
Senators introduce transparency bill and GAO report revealing under-funded survey system
Mar 20, 2009
A new Government Accountability Office report shows that the survey and certification system lacks the funding necessary to keep pace with its oversight responsibilities. Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA)...
Study: Case-mix Medicaid reimbursement systems contain disincentives for nursing home quality improvement
Mar 17, 2009
Nursing home Medicaid reimbursement systems can work to improve quality of care and save money–but they have to be used the right way, a new report suggests.
New department within HHS to oversee allocation of stimulus package healthcare funding
Mar 13, 2009
The Department of Health and Human Services has created an agency to oversee the distribution of the roughly $137 billion it received as a result of the economic stimulus package.
U.S. News’ rating system for nursing homes builds on government’s ‘five-star’...
Mar 13, 2009
Alaska has the largest percentage of five-star rated facilities in the United States, while Louisiana has the lowest. That is according to U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Nursing...
Card-check, Silver Alert bills introduced in Congress
Mar 11, 2009
Senators and representatives on Tuesday introduced the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, also known as union card-check legislation. Several long-term care groups immediately issued statements against...
Arbitration act ‘bad public policy,’ NCAL’s Kyllo says
Mar 06, 2009
The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living have voiced opposition to the recently reintroduced Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act. Members of both the House...
Study finds home healthcare settings have many unsafe conditions
Mar 06, 2009
A recent study has identified a number of hazardous conditions found in home healthcare settings–conditions that are of special concern to both the elderly and their caretakers.