Ensign Group goes on buying spree as it reports yet another record quarter
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 02, 2024
The Ensign Group on Wednesday announced a sweeping package of deals that will kickstart growth in one market, expand its footprint in five others and make the company a player in a new post-acute segment.
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.
‘Locked and loaded’: CareTrust touts lending as source of growing pipeline
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 06, 2024
A new deal that extends CareTrust’s partnership with the Ensign Group is an example of the company’s willingness to “lend with a purpose” as a means to grow its real estate holdings, leaders said...
Families press for nationwide ‘essential caregiver’ rights
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 18, 2024
More than four years after nearly all visitors were barred from US nursing homes amid a spreading pandemic, consumer advocates are pushing to enshrine permanent access for essential caregivers into federal...
Medicare audits ‘ramping up’ with isolation coding in the crosshairs
By
Josh Henreckson
Apr 22, 2024
Auditors are paying special attention to isolation and quarantine coding amid already heightened Medicare nursing home audits that are expected to increase in coming months, experts warn.
BREAKING: CMS increases hours to 3.48 in final staffing rule
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 22, 2024
Nursing homes will be required to deliver 3.48 hours daily of direct patient care under a final staffing mandate issued this morning.
Many state governments installed new regulations to govern nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, but those state-level policies weren’t clearly linked to reduced transmission, according to new...
Providers: Staffing rule a CMS ‘fairy tale’ that will ‘exacerbate’ nursing home access issue
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 23, 2024
Despite minor concessions in a staffing mandate issued Monday, many nursing home providers were shell-shocked by what they saw as federal regulators’ intractable stance on minimums at a time when nearly...
Nursing homes weigh pros, cons of new weight loss drugs as limited Medicare coverage kicks in
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 22, 2024
A recent decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to cover popular new weight loss drugs that provide additional health benefits could be a “game changer” for potentially thousands...
Democrats push new LTC workforce bill as offset to nursing home mandate
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 17, 2024
Key Democratic leaders Tuesday positioned new long-term care workforce legislation as a way to support nursing homes when a first-ever staffing mandate is finalized.