CMS ‘game-changer’ doubles pay on COVID-19 testing at nursing homes
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 16, 2020
High-volume labs that test for COVID-19 at nursing homes are going to reap double the amount of pay under a new policy announced Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
CMS ‘interested’ in patient satisfaction scores for nursing homes
By
James M. Berklan
Jan 22, 2020
Federal regulators say that nursing homes could eventually come to see patient satisfaction scores included in Five Star Quality Ratings and on the Nursing Home Compare website.
How would you like to spend some ‘quality time’ with CMS?
By
John O'Connor
Sep 24, 2018
First it was staffing data, could Uncle Sam be after providers for quality data next? One Senator might be after just that.
Political grandstanding hurting long-term care again
By
Brendan Williams
Jun 04, 2018
It is regrettable that 17 state attorneys general are grandstanding by demanding that federal officials impose stricter nursing home regulation and sanctions. Their letter shows no real understanding of...
Government shutdown could put chokehold on public health
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 19, 2018
It remains unclear how a government shutdown would affect the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services if Congress can’t agree on a bill to send the president by midnight.
Five-Star is anything but frozen
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 13, 2017
The day after Thanksgiving, CMS further defined its intensions with the Five-Star Quality Rating System; more specifically how the new survey process and derivative data will be used in its calculation...
Only one quality measure for SNFs under new CMS proposal
By
Dec 04, 2017
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services unveiled a shorter-than-usual list of potential Medicare quality measures last week, with only one aimed at skilled nursing providers.
Preparing for the upcoming BPCI model: Is your facility primed for success?
By
Cheri Bankston
Aug 16, 2017
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ testing of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative has been largely successful.
Providers expressed gratitude Tuesday at a 1% increase from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for skilled nursing services, even as it braced for quality measure implementation.
Antibiotics in LTC: Changing from ‘Just in case’ to ‘Only when needed’
By
Philip D. Sloane, M.D., MPH and Sheryl Zimmerman, Ph.D.
Mar 01, 2017
Prior to the discovery of antibiotics, the most common cause of death was infection. There was no good treatment for pneumonia, complications of urine or ear infections were common, and many people died...