CMS: Visitation restrictions must remain; prepare for return of less-collaborative surveys
By
Danielle Brown
Feb 12, 2021
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is not ready to update nursing home visitation guidance, despite a significant drop in COVID-19 cases following widespread resident vaccinations, a top official...
BREAKING: Feds: Nursing homes must test staff, offer residents COVID-19 testing under new rules
By
James M. Berklan
Danielle Brown
Aug 25, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced sweeping regulatory changes Tuesday afternoon for nursing homes and other providers dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks.
Obama opens the door for drastic new Medicare, Medicaid cuts for nursing homes
Jun 16, 2009
Frayed nerves were showing in the provider community Monday after President Obama announced his intentions Saturday to cut $313 billion more from Medicare and Medicaid over the next 10 years. The proposed...
CMS to deliver ‘point-of-care’ COVID-19 test kits to all nursing homes
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 14, 2020
Thousands of nursing homes across the country will be given “point of care” COVID-19 tests by the administration starting next week, officials announced Tuesday.
‘Outliers’ beware: Medicaid transparency rule will track staff spending patterns
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 08, 2024
While a new Medicaid transparency rule for nursing homes doesn’t go as far as a similar measure dictating how home and personal care providers spend their money, data collected through new reporting...
Nursing home groups suggest $1 billion Medicare cuts could cost even more
May 13, 2009
Nursing home representatives and healthcare groups continued their attacks against a proposed FY 2010 $1.05 billion Medicare reduction on Tuesday with the release of a report indicating the cuts could...
New CMS vaccination reporting mandate could drive nursing homes to reach 75% staff goal
By
Danielle Brown
May 12, 2021
Providers say they are onboard with a new COVID-19 vaccination reporting mandate announced by federal health officials on Tuesday — calling the additional transparency “critical” for the industry...
Nursing homes face threats of citations, penalties if they restrict visitor access without good cause
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 18, 2020
Providers who fail to facilitate in-person visitations “without a reasonable clinical or safety cause” could be cited and face other penalties under new guidance issued Thursday by the Centers for...
Nursing homes with staffing shortages more susceptible to COVID-19 spread: study
By
Danielle Brown
Aug 13, 2020
Facilities with higher Five-star ratings for nurse staffing were less likely to have COVID-19 cases when compared with lower-rated providers, according to a new research letter published in the Journal...
CMS now using 14 days of data to calculate COVID-19 county positivity rate; HHS could improve nursing...
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 23, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid has modified its methodology used for classifying county-level COVID-19 data that determines how often nursing homes will have to test staff members for the disease.