Providers could be slapped with monetary penalties for slow response to document requests under OIG proposal
By
Tim Mullaney
May 13, 2014
Long-term care providers are facing an expanded list of infractions that could trigger civil monetary penalties, including slow response to document requests. The proposed regulation from the Department...
Cash-strapped feds to cut back Medicare oversight this year, OIG official says
By
Tim Mullaney
May 05, 2014
One of nursing homes’ most vigilant government watchdogs plans to dramatically curb its activities this year, a federal official has told the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Health. The Department...
How to do it … Choosing a good financial advisor
May 01, 2014
The trust a long-term care organization places in a person to guide and consult on its finances is no less important than the trust the residents have in the operator. A provider must be willing to invest...
State News May 2014
May 01, 2014
WASHINGTON – A proposal for a sorely needed veteran’s nursing home in Walla Walla remains mired in red tape and declining federal funding while elected officials continue pushing the Veterans...
Profile: A rare bird in Congress
By
Elizabeth Newman
May 01, 2014
When Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) was around 4 years old, she asked for a doctor’s kit. But growing up in a working class family in Glen Burnie, MD, the future nurse and Congressman didn’t know...
States can designate more nursing homes in urgent need of quality improvement, government says
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 22, 2014
The federal government is reactivating the special focus facility program for nursing homes with quality issues, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced. The program was minimized due...
Shortchanging the Older Americans Act has led to unnecessary nursing home placements, senators say
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 17, 2014
Chronic underfunding of the Older Americans Act is leading to unnecessary long-term care facility admissions, Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) and 26 of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate said in a recent...
Proposed Life Safety Code updates encourage more homelike environments
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 15, 2014
Updated fire safety regulations could encourage more home-like healthcare environments while increasing security to safeguard against wandering, according to a proposed rule announced Monday.
House members request $200 million to increase long-term care, geriatric medicine workforce
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 11, 2014
To meet an increasingly urgent need, Congress should earmark $200 million to expand the number of geriatric care workers. This was the case that 26 House members made in a recent letter Appropriations...
OIG changes its mind on referral services discounts
By
Elizabeth Newman
Apr 09, 2014
Providers cannot use an online service that involves money for referrals within its network, federal regulars now say, reversing course on an advisory opinion issued three years ago. The edict came from...