The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is attempting again to stiff nursing homes while also eyeing quick action on payment system reform.
Feds turn attention back to facility staffing levels
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 01, 2020
In a recent Office of Inspector General report, we learned that federal overseers are not happy about nursing home staffing levels.
CMS tells hospitals to fix discharge practices
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 10, 2023
Hospitals’ shortcomings in providing post-acute care providers with adequate discharge information prompted federal regulators to issue a special memo the first week of June.
60 Seconds with University of Rochester researcher Brian McGarry
By
James M. Berklan
May 03, 2023
Q: What did your team’s recent study of COVID-19 staff-testing methods reveal? A: Surveillance testing was very effective and we likely underinvested in this. Cheap and fast, but slightly less accurate,...
New bid may be underway to foster Medicaid block grants
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 05, 2019
The administration is considering sidestepping Congress to make another run at using state block grants to pay for Medicaid funding, according to a published report.
ACOs overreach authority?
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 05, 2019
Providers have professed gratitude for recent federal proposals to improve accountable care organizations’ design and operation. But efforts to limit healthcare utilization should be scrapped, said the...
13th Online Expo explores quality, pay, tech
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 07, 2019
New Year’s resolutions may have worn off by now, but the opportunity to better yourself professionally will never be greater than at the end of this month, thanks to the McKnight’s Online Expo.
Workplace violence proposal could cost providers billions
By
James M. Berklan
Nov 13, 2019
Private nursing homes, hospitals and other healthcare providers could be facing a cumulative annual tab of $1.3 billion if a proposed federal bill aimed at protecting workers from violence becomes law....
A man for all seasons: John Derr
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 05, 2023
That John Derr recently said he’s thinking of backing off a bit is both a shame and an inevitability. For few have ever packed as much into one lifetime as he has. A slowdown is the only real possible...
Providers force feds’ hand on COVID-19 reporting guidance
By
James M. Berklan
May 01, 2020
Some legal aspects about publicly reporting nursing homes’ COVID-19 infection rates and deaths were being ironed out as of press time. But federal authorities made it clear in late April that facilities...