Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want
By
Steven Littlehale
Oct 14, 2022
It’s a curious day when I lift a lyric from the Spice Girls to title an article. The Spice Girls’ first single, “Wannabe,” was released in 1996 and rocketed to the top of the British singles chart....
Unraveling the impact: PDPM Medicaid case-mix index and potential Five-Star Rating challenges
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 01, 2024
The landscape of Medicaid reimbursement for nursing homes is undergoing significant changes. Presently, eight states have adopted the PDPM case-mix index (CMI) model, and an additional 31 states are set...
Risk mitigation strategies for supporting employees too!
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 03, 2023
Last month I wrote about risk. I shared that risk in a nursing home originates from many places: residents and families, federal and state regulators, vendors, payers, insurance companies, referral sources...
Making sense of the data deluge
By
Steven Littlehale
Nov 11, 2022
My happy place is standing in front of nursing home providers and honoring them through education. Shining a loving light on these special people and honoring their commitment to better care feeds my soul....
Lots to learn with new Five-Star
By
Steven Littlehale
Jul 22, 2022
On a recent flight, I sat next to an attorney whose principal focus was compliance. It turned out that we were both on our way to speak at events in the same popular Florida conference destination. She...
Will you pass CMS’s new schizophrenia MDS audits?
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 31, 2023
In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services started focused on-site surveys to address the issue of erroneous coding of schizophrenia in nursing homes. More recently, the agency began conducting...
Be your own data defender
By
Steven Littlehale
Sep 15, 2023
“Well, it’s clear that you’ve never set foot into a nursing home.” I know you’ve thought that while reading a memo from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or your state agency, taking...