Sequester cuts are bringing changes to survey process
By
McKnight's Staff
May 01, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will change some nursing home survey procedures in response to budget cuts from sequestration, according to memos released April 9. The CMS Survey & Certification...
Looking to open eyes about ‘observations’
By
James M. Berklan
May 01, 2013
Bully for provider groups pulling out the stops to draw attention to the ludicrous mishandling of “observation stay” designations by many hospitals. One prong of the plan is to have providers...
CMS changes nursing home inspections in response to sequestration cuts
By
McKnight's Staff
Apr 10, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will change some nursing home survey procedures in response to budget cuts from sequestration, according to memos released Tuesday. The CMS Survey & Certification...
Will there be a ‘real’ CMS administrator soon? It’s looking so
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 03, 2013
If you’re a gambling person, it looks like the odds just got a whole lot better for Marilyn Tavenner becoming the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. That’s...
Do you know your P’s and Q’s of QAPI?
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Feb 21, 2013
The Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement system from CMS is on our doorsteps. As facilities have been training and educating themselves, the new QIS (Quality Indicator Surveys) are ready to roll....
Presidential election, Medicaid expansion crucial to future of nursing home funding
By
McKnight's Staff
Sep 26, 2012
If President Obama is re-elected in November, governors who have resisted implementing the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion will likely change their tune, a former government official speculated...
Senators demand more data on Medicare fraud prevention efforts
By
McKnight's Staff
Aug 01, 2012
A multimillion dollar Medicare fraud-fighting command center unveiled by the federal government a week ago is already drawing fire from two Republican lawmakers.
CMS official responds to criticism of pilot programs for dual eligibles
By
McKnight's Staff
Jul 19, 2012
A federal official defended government demonstration programs that coordinate care for dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in a Senate hearing Wednesday.
CMS wants to know how you make things better
By
John O'Connor
Jul 06, 2012
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may be asking you for help this summer. It might behoove you to sit up and take notice.
Sprinkler mandate fails to soak in
By
John O'Connor
May 25, 2012
Ben Franklin warned us that death and taxes are life’s only certainties. But if you run a long-term care facility, feel free to add regulations to that list. And it looks like a doozy of a looming...