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More scrutiny ahead for Five-Star ratings
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 05, 2015
In a move that top nursing home lobbyists privately hoped wouldn’t come to pass, the Government Accountability Office announced in late August it will be investigating the federal nursing home rating...
CMS lowers pay hike for skilled nursing facilities to 1.2%
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 31, 2015
Medicare skilled nursing facilities would get a net 1.2% pay increase — totaling $430 million — in fiscal 2016 under a final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services late Thursday.
MedPAC calls for loosening of ‘3-day’ qualifying stay, RAC auditing reforms
By
James M. Berklan
Jun 16, 2015
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is recommending allowing nursing home coverage for beneficiaries who have spent as little as one day in hospital inpatient status, combined with up to two days...
Nursing home operators hail ‘historic’ Senate passage of permanent ‘doc fix’...
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 15, 2015
The Senate overwhelmingly voted to pass H.R. 2 Tuesday night, paving the way for repeal of the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate and drawing the praise of the largest nursing home association in the country.
More changes ahead for the current ratings system: feds
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 06, 2015
Staffing and retention rates are expected to be added to the Nursing Home Compare website in 2016.
Feds’ new pay-for-quality goals are OK, except …
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 05, 2015
Long-term care providers weren’t outwardly jumping for joy when it was announced that Medicare is going to start paying for quality, and not quantity, of services.
Rate drops for antipsychotics
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 04, 2015
Industry leaders were pleasantly surprised to learn that nursing home operators had exceeded goals for lowering unnecessary antipsychotics use. The level dropped by nearly 20% over a three-year span.
Officials: More additions and rebasings of nursing home ratings to come
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 23, 2015
Nearly one-third of the nation’s skilled nursing facilities lost a rating star due purely to administrative changes Friday, when regulators also emphasized that more quality measures will be added...
Skilled sector fears massive doctor bill
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 01, 2015
Long-term care provider advocates kicked off a comprehensive lobbying campaign in January to encourage favorable reform to Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate formula for physicians.