The federal government’s Nursing Home Quality Initiative has been a success in several areas, although clear or positive results are not apparent for many criteria, health officials declared at a...
Managed care’s bully act is already wearing thin
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 09, 2018
A new study points out that decreasing lengths of stay (LOS), which are compelled largely by managed care and other group entities, are playing havoc with traditional long-term care operations.
ACOs cut costs, not quality
By
James M. Berklan
Jun 05, 2017
Post-acute care spending dropped by 9% — or about $106 per beneficiary — without a drop in quality, a study of accountable care organizations in the Medicare Shared Savings Program has found.
Critics: Gaps in ‘Compare’ site
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 06, 2017
The federal website that informs consumers about specific nursing homes has “considerable” knowledge gaps, a pair of prominent Harvard University researchers asserted recently.
Editor’s Desk: Nowhere near final word for best hospice settings
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 01, 2009
I have to admit I wasn’t really ready for the outpouring we received over hospice care.
Quality pursuit taken to a new level
By
James M. Berklan
Nov 08, 2006
Providers join critics in coalition to show they can improve over the next two years.
Nursing home population tumbles 20%
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 01, 2014
The number of Americans 65 or older residing in a nursing home fell from 1.6 million to 1.3 million during the decade ending in 2010, according to a new federal report.
AG revives ‘false advertising’ fight against Golden Living
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 06, 2017
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has attempted to revive a lawsuit that claims nursing home giant Golden LivingCenters was guilty of “false advertising” for its services.
Medicare appeals backlog to be fixed by 2020, HHS says
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 06, 2016
Federal health officials say tweaks to the system will enable them to eradicate a massive backlog of Medicare decision appeals in 2019. They made the prediction in a court brief filed in U.S. District...
Star ratings? Give ’em two big thumbs down
By
James M. Berklan
Jan 01, 2009
For a while, it appeared the feds had pulled it off: Nobody was going to be watching the right hand while the left hand fiddled away.