Nursing home cannot use Medicaid payment structure to evade ‘worthless services’ charges,...
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 17, 2014
A nursing home cannot cite Medicare and Medicaid payment methods to escape charges that it provided “worthless services,” a federal judge recently ruled in a False Claims Act case.
CMS allows less-severe citations for nursing homes installing a sprinkler system
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 19, 2013
Nursing homes might be able to reduce the scope and severity of deficiency citations related to sprinkler systems, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced.
Government report: 1 in 5 Medicare patients suffers an adverse event while receiving post-acute SNF care
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 04, 2014
About 22% of Medicare beneficiaries experienced an adverse event during a post-hospitalization skilled nursing facility stay in fiscal year 2011, and the majority of these events were preventable, according...
Obesity indeed increases seniors’ risk of death, will be long-standing issue for LTC providers:...
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 19, 2013
Obesity does not decrease seniors’ risk of death, according to a new study that calls into question previous findings. The new study also suggests that long-term care providers will see an increasing...
Hospice is growing fastest in skilled nursing facilities, new report shows
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 05, 2014
Hospice services increased in nursing homes more than in any other care setting last year, according to the latest annual report from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
Providers could be slapped with monetary penalties for slow response to document requests under OIG proposal
By
Tim Mullaney
May 13, 2014
Long-term care providers are facing an expanded list of infractions that could trigger civil monetary penalties, including slow response to document requests. The proposed regulation from the Department...
40 states plan to increase nursing home Medicaid rates
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 16, 2014
Reversing a trend of rate cutting during the Great Recession, most states are increasing Medicaid reimbursements for nursing homes, according to a recently released report. However, states also are accelerating...
Poor oversight allows nursing home workers to plunder residents’ trust funds, investigation finds
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 17, 2013
Nursing home workers face few impediments in stealing money from residents’ trust funds, according to a USA Today investigation that uncovered thousands of cases of financial exploitation.
Dual eligibles more likely to go from hospitals to lower quality nursing homes, referral process might...
By
Tim Mullaney
May 27, 2014
People eligible both for Medicare and Medicaid go to lower-quality nursing homes after being hospitalized at a rate higher than Medicare-only patients, according to researchers from Brown and Harvard universities.
Government proposes long-term care EHR certification criteria, seeks provider comments
By
Tim Mullaney
May 16, 2014
Long-term care providers might soon be able to look for the government’s seal of approval when shopping for electronic health records systems, if newly proposed certification criteria take effect.