$96M Medicaid funding gap menaces state’s facilities, threatens closures
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 17, 2024
Persistent and growing Medicaid funding gaps have pushed Maine long-term care leaders to request urgent relief from the state government. The LTC reimbursement shortfall has expanded to $96 million dollars,...
$2K daily fines poised to begin ‘within days’ as NY staffing rule upheld
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 16, 2024
Long-term care providers took a legal blow when a New York state Supreme Court judge struck down a legal challenge to the state’s staffing mandate law, and now providers could be days away from incurring...
CMS pledges to use ‘full array’ of tools to enforce 2024 Medicare Advantage rules
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 12, 2024
Despite early fears, long-term care leaders have some reason to be optimistic that changes to Medicare Advantage rules for 2024 will be enforced.
25 nursing homes swept up in wage-withholding investigation
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 11, 2024
The US Department of Labor has filed a complaint against the operator of 25 Massachusetts nursing homes, alleging that it systematically withheld break and overtime pay at those facilities in violation...
New worker classification rule could spark legal battle, experts warn
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 10, 2024
The US Department of Labor issued a final rule on worker classification standards Tuesday, setting in motion implications for a long-term care sector increasingly reliant on agency contract work to meet...
More staff not necessarily the solution for high-dementia nursing homes, researchers find
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 10, 2024
Achieving higher staffing levels does not resolve key discrepancies between nursing homes with higher and lower percentages of residents with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other cognitive impairments, a...
Nursing operator must issue back pay after abruptly ending shift-differential perk
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 09, 2024
The National Labor Relations Board sided with a union’s request to have shift-differential pay reinstated and back pay issued after a nursing home’s new owner unilaterally ended the incentive practice...
Long-term care leaders cheer proposed Medicare Advantage appeals rule in final push
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 08, 2024
A surge of public and professional support arrived Friday as the comment period closed for a proposed federal rule that providers say could level the playing field with Medicare Advantage plans.
Caregiver burnout not harming patient care, study shows
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 05, 2024
With care worker weariness impossible to ignore in the long-term care sector, researchers have increasingly tried to learn whether burnout has led to lower care quality in nursing homes.
Fines suspended for nursing homes that violate minimum staffing law
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 03, 2024
As debate continues to rage around the proposed federal nursing home staffing mandate, the rollouts of two state-level mandates illuminate the difficulties in enforcing these sweeping rules.