When people are discharged from the hospital following an illness, injury or surgery, that’s often not the end of the story.
Rate hike will be only a part of the new Medicare reality
By
John O'Connor
Sep 01, 2014
Many providers are relieved that Medicare rates are slated to go up by 2% in the next fiscal year. After all, who wants to turn down $750 million, especially in a rate-cutting climate?
60 seconds with … Avalere Health Director Brian Fuller
Aug 01, 2014
Q: The government is notifying new participants in the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative. Do you expect more post-acute providers in this latest round?
Government plan calls for increased surveillance, prosecution to combat elder abuse
By
Stephanie H. Kim
Jul 10, 2014
Elder abuse is inflicted upon many of the more than 2 million Americans in long-term care settings, and more oversight is needed, according to a government report published Wednesday.
Panel slams fee for service
By
Amy Novotney
Jul 01, 2014
The predominance of fee-for-service payment methods is the greatest barrier to improving efficiency in the nation’s healthcare system, according to a May 29 report from a panel of White House advisors....
It’s time to stop long-term care state rankings
By
Tim Mullaney
Jun 24, 2014
Minnesota routinely is named best state for long-term care, as it was last week in AARP’s 2014 scorecard. AARP held a panel discussion to unveil the rankings, and of course an official from Minnesota...
Improper coding for doctors’ evaluation and management visits costs Medicare billions, OIG report
By
John Hall
May 30, 2014
Documentation coding errors related to routine patient evaluation and management (E/M) visits are costing the Medicare program billions of dollars in improper payments a year — nearly $7 billion alone...
Dual eligibles more likely to go from hospitals to lower quality nursing homes, referral process might...
By
Tim Mullaney
May 27, 2014
People eligible both for Medicare and Medicaid go to lower-quality nursing homes after being hospitalized at a rate higher than Medicare-only patients, according to researchers from Brown and Harvard universities.
3 value-based purchasing strategies to help you get ahead
By
Sally Rodriguez
May 21, 2014
Long-term care providers have a stronger hook than they probably realize regarding the toughening of penalties for hospitals with high readmission rates.
Support for Medicare-style, government long-term care insurance program surges, large AP-University of...
By
Tim Mullaney
May 20, 2014
The idea of a government-run long-term care insurance program similar to Medicare has become much more popular in the last year, according to the findings of a large nationwide survey. Independent research...