‘Critical access’ not at critical mass, but skilled nursing providers push on
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 02, 2023
Support for the concept of critical access nursing homes is growing among providers, but it has yet to gain much traction among industry leaders or the politicians who would need to create such a safety...
Ask the payment expert … about pending removal of Section G
By
Eleisha Wilkes, RN, RAC-CTA, RAC-CT, DNS-CT
Dec 05, 2022
What is the impact of Section G being removed from the MDS?
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....
Measuring patient function a big hitch in creating fair, post-acute pay
By
Kimberly Marselas
Sep 30, 2022
As a Congressional advisory board grapples with how to bring all post-acute providers under a single payment system, the use of self-reported data continues to raise doubts about the ability to accurately...
Final pay rule and rates: A primer for rehab professionals
By
Renee Kinder
Sep 01, 2022
The October 2019 industry shift to the Patient Driven Payment Model allowed all rehabilitation professionals the opportunity to document specific clinical characteristics about the patients we serve and...
BREAKING: CMS finalizes 2.7% pay raise, two year phase-in for PDPM cuts
By
Danielle Brown
Jul 29, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Friday afternoon announced a finalized cut to nursing home Medicare pay rates for fiscal 2023.
One quarter of SNFs stuck with Medicare margins below 4%
By
Danielle Brown
Jul 21, 2022
Medicare margins for all freestanding skilled nursing facilities across the United States varied widely in 2020, according to new data from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
Mandated minimum staffing would cost nursing homes $10 billion annually
By
Danielle Brown
Jul 20, 2022
Providers would have to spend an additional $10 billion more per year and hire more than 187,000 new workers to meet requirements of one possible federal minimum staffing approach, according to a new analysis.
CMS official confirms agency considering direct care spending minimums for nursing homes
By
Danielle Brown
Jun 13, 2022
Federal health officials hinted that nursing home providers may soon be forced to spend a minimum of their Medicaid funding on direct care.
Nursing homes in disbelief as governor proposes $280 million cut in funding
By
Danielle Brown
Jun 08, 2022
California skilled nursing providers are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and his administration to come up with a new funding plan for SNFs after he proposed a $280 million cut in base pay in a push to...