BREAKING: Supreme Court speeds vax mandates to Jan. 7 hearing
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 22, 2021
The U.S. Supreme Court took the unusual step of announcing Wednesday night that it would hear arguments over the administration’s COVID-19 worker vaccine mandate on Jan. 7, three days before it was originally...
CMS: No test-out option for health worker vax mandate
By
James M. Berklan
Nov 05, 2021
Healthcare workers may seek a medical or religious exemption under the new emergency federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate, but a test opt-out does not exist, a top Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...
Provider payment adjustments coming — this time without the indictments
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 30, 2021
Could it be that federal regulators and the caregivers they oversee are becoming more civil to one another?
Most nursing home visits banned as part of federal COVID-19 strategy
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 15, 2020
Exceptions include healthcare workers, surveyors and those in compassionate care situations.
CMS call will discuss NOTICE Act requirements
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 17, 2015
Long-term care providers might want to dial in to a conference call Monday that will discuss requirements of hospitals and other providers under the NOTICE Act.
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...
Latest therapy-billing showdown could be ominous sign for long-term care providers
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 10, 2014
Don’t let anyone tell you that long-term care operators don’t know how to read between the lines. They might not have known to fear a McKnight’s Monday news item before it broke, but...
‘Special’ times ahead for more nursing homes, and that’s not good
By
James M. Berklan
May 28, 2014
As spring blends into summer, some nursing home operators are going to start feeling more heat — and it will have nothing to do with the weather. They will be given places on the proverbial hot seat....
Looking to open eyes about ‘observations’
By
James M. Berklan
May 01, 2013
Bully for provider groups pulling out the stops to draw attention to the ludicrous mishandling of “observation stay” designations by many hospitals. One prong of the plan is to have providers...
Will there be a ‘real’ CMS administrator soon? It’s looking so
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 03, 2013
If you’re a gambling person, it looks like the odds just got a whole lot better for Marilyn Tavenner becoming the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. That’s...