Government asks for suggestions on how to reduce Medicare appeals backlog
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 05, 2014
The federal government is asking the public to suggest ways of reducing Medicare appeals and cutting down on a backlog at the administrative law judge level. The request for information was filed by the...
Nursing homes will be subject to escrow for all civil monetary penalties, CMS announces
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 05, 2013
Nursing homes facing a civil monetary penalty due to any type of deficiency will be subject to escrow and entitled to request an independent informal dispute resolution process, according to a newly issued...
Healthcare providers are not liable for workers who breach patient privacy ‘outside scope of employment,’...
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 29, 2014
Long-term care providers may not be on the hook when workers improperly share resident data for purely personal reasons, suggests a recent legal ruling.
CMS: Nursing home Medicare cuts helped keep healthcare spending at historic low levels
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 07, 2014
Dramatic Medicare cuts to skilled nursing facilities played a significant part in keeping healthcare spending low in 2012, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Monday.
More than 6,000 skilled nursing facilities achieved notable gains in the first year of the American Health Care Association’s Quality Initiative, the provider association announced yesterday.
Acute, post-acute bundled payments are ‘readily achievable,’ report finds
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 06, 2013
Current patient classification systems could form the basis of a successful bundled payment program for acute and post-acute care, according to a recently published article in the Medicare & Medicaid Research...
Senators blast Medicare audits, say RAC payments should be changed
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 10, 2014
The Medicare claims review process is unfairly burdening healthcare providers and failing to improve program integrity, due in part to the payment system for certain auditors, Senate leaders said during...
Hospital-acquired pressure ulcers are 10 times more common than Medicare data shows, research suggests
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 16, 2013
The Medicare program often paints a far rosier picture of hospitals’ pressure ulcer rates than is indicated by data collected bedside by nurses, according to a newly published study.
Help keep Holocaust survivors out of long-term care facilities, panelists urge Congressional lawmakers
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 17, 2014
Strenuous efforts should be made to provide aging Holocaust survivors with home care, because institutional settings tend to trigger post-traumatic stress disorder for this group, experts told lawmakers...
Efforts to prevent, care for diabetic foot ulcers cut amputation rate in half, study finds
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 23, 2013
Better ulcer care contributed to a nearly 50% decrease in diabetes-related leg amputations between 2000-2010, according to a study in the current issue of Foot & Ankle International.