Medicare Advantage: A not-so-advantageous deal for beneficiaries and providers
By
Brendan Williams
Nov 29, 2023
Open enrollment is well underway for Medicare, as television viewers inundated with cheesy insurance company ads can tell. Those ads must work. For the first time 2024 will see most Medicare...
‘Incomplete’ oversight lets Medicaid managed care denials go largely unchecked: MACPAC
By
Kimberly Marselas
Sep 22, 2023
While much of the outrage around managed care denials has been directed toward Medicare Advantage plans, a federal advisory panel Thursday outlined policies that could force states to better track denials...
CMS ‘naive’ about staffing minimum proposal details, professor claims
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Sep 20, 2023
The proposed federal staffing rule is “shockingly low” and will not measurably improve working and care conditions in nursing homes, consumer advocates claimed during a webinar that was conducted without...
Biden’s regulatory Death Star
By
Brendan Williams
Sep 11, 2023
Despite federal data showing that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to massive job losses for nursing and residential care facilities – with the workforce 218,200 workers smaller last month...
CMS official to providers: Help us capture data to drive Medicare Advantage reforms
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 07, 2024
The increased use of health data and providers’ own voices should be considered among the best tools available for achieving change in a system that increasingly relies on Medicaid Advantage and other...
New state staffing ratios unearth ‘grave’ concerns about vacant jobs, empty beds
By
Kimberly Marselas
Oct 24, 2023
Despite increased state funding that has allowed nursing homes to provide raises for existing staff and increase starting salaries, the number of Pennsylvania providers limiting census due to staffing...
With bankruptcies increasing, lawmakers look to regulate CCRC refund process
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jul 21, 2023
The bankruptcy filing of Illinois’ largest nonprofit life plan community has brought renewed attention to resident refunds, an issue already being targeted for reform by state lawmakers.
Experts fear ‘bigger, stronger stick’ in new Medicare pay rule
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 01, 2024
Nursing home stakeholders are reacting with contempt and concern to key provisions of the newly proposed fiscal 2025 Medicare Part A pay rule.
2024 eagerly awaits you, long-term care faithful
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 21, 2023
As a new year looms, we’re reminded of a pattern that becomes pretty familiar in long-term care if you’ve already seen enough calendar pages disappear.
Trick or treat? MDS changes are in the bag
By
Joel VanEaton
Oct 03, 2023
When I was a kid, I loved getting dressed up for Halloween. I remember especially a clown (funny not scary) costume I got one year. I couldn’t wait to put it on and be transformed into another world....