Experts tell lawmakers: Obama Medicare proposals would hurt long-term care — or maybe not
By
McKnight's Staff
May 22, 2013
U.S. lawmakers heard mixed messages at a hearing Tuesday on how proposed Medicare cost-sharing reforms would impact long-term care. The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health focused in particular...
CBO won’t have an estimate on Affordable Care Act’s deficit impact prior to House repeal...
By
McKnight's Staff
Jul 10, 2012
The Congressional Budget Office is still assessing the impact of the Supreme Court’s Affordable Care Act decision on the federal deficit and won’t have an estimate until the end of July. That...
Seventh annual McKnight’s Online Expo promises to be a blockbuster, complete with avatars
By
McKnight's Staff
Feb 19, 2013
The seventh annual McKnight’s Online Expo will kick off with five webcasts March 20 and 21. As in the previous six highly successful Expos, this year’s will offer long-term care providers valuable...
No timeline for official QAPI regulation, but surveyors are learning program basics, CMS official says
By
McKnight's Staff
Jun 14, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services still cannot say when an official regulation will be established for the Quality Assessment and Performance Initiative, but that’s not stopping the agency...
Therapy can still benefit older, long-time aphasia sufferers, study shows
By
McKnight's Staff
Jan 10, 2013
Therapy can improve language function and general cognition for seniors who have had aphasia for years, according to a recently published study.
CMS work group recommends approach for employing former criminals in long-term care settings
By
McKnight's Staff
Apr 19, 2013
Long-term care providers and states should agree on what a “direct access employee” is and whether that person has a criminal conviction that should keep him or her from working in a nursing...
Comments on a public conference call led to whistleblower lawsuit against nursing home therapy provider
By
McKnight's Staff
May 28, 2013
Comments made during a therapy provider’s public conference call in 2006 aroused the suspicion of a listener, who went on to file a whistleblower lawsuit. This was disclosed in a recent court filing...
Governors divided on Medicaid expansion, creating uncertain fiscal forecast for long-term care operators
By
McKnight's Staff
Jan 18, 2013
There are likely to be notable gaps in Medicaid coverage through the nation when major parts of the Affordable Care Act go into effect on the first day of 2014, according to a New England Journal of Medicine...
SNF margins cut in half, Alliance report says
By
McKnight's Staff
May 31, 2013
With income margins decimated by Medicare and Medicaid cuts and access to capital strangled, skilled nursing facilities will be unable to care for the nation’s booming senior population unless changes...
CMS issues more in-depth survey guidelines to reduce readmissions; invites comments on assistant reporting
By
McKnight's Staff
May 20, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has revised the provider certification manual for hospitals, giving more in-depth guidelines around discharge planning. The goal is for hospitals to reduce...