Governors ask for limited waivers on vaccine mandate
By
Danielle Brown
Feb 02, 2022
A pair of Republican governors have asked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for temporary relief from the healthcare worker COVID-19 vaccine mandate for rural providers and state-run facilities.
CMS unleashes new tool for improving facility air quality
By
Danielle Brown
Feb 04, 2022
Funding is available for long-term care providers looking to make air quality upgrades to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Former CMS leader rips Biden’s nursing home reform plans
By
Danielle Brown
Mar 15, 2022
President Joe Biden’s proposals to reform America’s nursing homes are “short-sighted” and may push providers over the edge during the ongoing workforce crisis, the former leader of the Centers...
COVID vaccine mandate for 25 states newly challenged in federal court
By
Danielle Brown
Jan 05, 2022
The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in 25 states currently without an injunction against it is being challenged again in a federal appeals court.
Layering of fines amid state, federal staffing rule conflicts tops providers’ worry list
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 02, 2024
Providers in states that have recently increased their own nursing home staffing requirements may soon find themselves playing a complicated penalties and numbers game — and buried in additional paperwork.
Kansas losing $350,000 for not enforcing healthcare worker vaccine mandate
By
Danielle Brown
Mar 31, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is cutting Kansas’ Medicaid funding by nearly $350,000 for not enforcing the federal healthcare worker COVID-19 vaccine mandate in nursing homes and hospitals.
‘Balance has tipped’: It’s time to ease up on visitation regulations, nursing homes tell feds
By
Danielle Brown
Feb 25, 2021
Long-term care providers are calling on the federal government to remove regulations that base nursing home indoor visitations on COVID-19 positivity rates in the area now that vaccine coverage is widespread...
First vaccine deadline arrives for healthcare workers in half the nation
By
Danielle Brown
Jan 28, 2022
Surveyors can now evaluate long-term care providers’ compliance with a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate covering healthcare workers in half of the United States. Many long-term care providers are ready...
Federal officials keep heat on MA plans over denials, delays
By
Danielle Brown
Jun 30, 2022
Congressional lawmakers are being urged to address weaknesses in Medicare Advantage plans in response to a federal watchdog report that found that the MA organizations have often improperly denied or delayed...
Providers concerned with ‘red herring’ of new nursing home transparency rules
By
Josh Henreckson
Apr 09, 2024
The New Jersey Department of Health has used an expedited process to implement new financial transparency rules for nursing homes — notably, requiring that owner-certified financial disclosures be audited...