There is a way Democrats could capitalize upon the enthusiasm of many in their base for “Medicare for All.” They could join together with Republicans and make Medicare responsible for what so many...
Nursing Home Quality Incentive Program? Hardly
By
Brendan Williams
Dec 08, 2020
Was any federal program ever more misnamed than the “Nursing Home Quality Incentive Program”? Rather than reward nursing home quality, it has effectively rewarded states that have out-of-control COVID-19...
Impossible expectations are undermining nursing home care
By
Brendan Williams
Feb 05, 2024
Maine has the nation’s oldest population, and yet almost 40% of its nursing homes have closed within the past few decades. As the Bangor Daily News has reported, that’s forced residents of some...
Sen. Grassley fails to recognize the real neglect
By
Brendan Williams
Apr 19, 2019
Sen. Chuck Grassley has used his position to attack long-term care in headline-grabbing ways.
CMS should be careful in what it asks for
By
Brendan Williams
Dec 23, 2022
Those in the nursing home sector are worried a potential staffing mandate imposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could be the ruination of a reeling sector. However, there is an argument...
‘Gimmick’ bashing from the expert
By
Brendan Williams
Dec 02, 2019
Seema Verma, administrator for The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is at it again with a proposed rule that purports “to eliminate state financing gimmicks that cost the federal government...
Trump’s proposed budget is an attack on Medicare
By
Brendan Williams
Mar 22, 2019
In March 2015, President Donald Trump, on Twitter, stated, “I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Huckabee copied...
Block grants won’t lead to cost-cutting efficiency
By
Brendan Williams
May 31, 2019
Eviscerating the social safety net through block grants can only further contribute to a dystopian future for aging adults and all others on Medicaid.
When celebrity obscures suffering
By
Brendan Williams
Sep 10, 2021
There is a poignant scene in the first episode of Spike Lee’s “NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½” on HBO in which New York Assembly Member Ron Kim breaks down recounting the efforts of former Governor Andrew...
With POC testing strategy, federal government continues to respond poorly to COVID-19 in nursing homes
By
Brendan Williams
Sep 08, 2020
In the federal government’s fight against COVID-19, nursing homes have effectively been left for dead. Despite a death count that began with the February outbreak in a Kirkland, Washington, nursing...