Obtaining critical claims data may soon get easier
By
John O'Connor
Jun 05, 2015
The government plans to make new claims data and other resident-care information available to providers and entrepreneurs as never before. Is it too good to be true?
The truth can set you free — or put your long-term care facility out of business
By
John O'Connor
Jan 11, 2013
Journalists generally get all warm and tingly when previously guarded information becomes available. It must be in our DNA. So I should probably be cheering ProPublica’s announcement that the government...
A new way to think about long-term care funding
By
John O'Connor
Nov 06, 2017
During a talk last Monday at the LeadingAge conference, Harvard Professor Jennifer McCrea served up an interesting take on the warping nature of money.
Promising signs on the regulatory front
By
John O'Connor
Oct 16, 2017
President Trump is no fan of regulations, and long-term care operators have more than their fair share to contend with. So it’s a welcome breeze when Trump says he wants to start eliminating some...
Here we go again: All nursing homes are bad
By
John O'Connor
Sep 17, 2017
There is no way to sugarcoat what happened last week in Hollywood Hills, FL. Eight skilled care residents died in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Our condolences go out to the victims and their families. But...
How not to learn from a nursing home tragedy
By
John O'Connor
Jul 09, 2018
Let’s be clear: A tragedy last year wasn’t a once-in-a-century outlier. It was a disaster waiting to happen.
Is it any mystery why so many beds remain empty?
By
John O'Connor
Sep 15, 2014
Ask skilled care or senior living operators about their biggest operational challenge, and the answer is almost always the same: keeping the place full. A new investigation of the way many operators deal...
Medicaid hypocrisy 2.0, or the art of not giving credit where it’s due
By
John O'Connor
Feb 28, 2014
Hypocrisy, thy name is Republican governor taking more Medicaid funding.
Cameras: Families like them, lawyers love them
By
John O'Connor
Jul 10, 2015
Illinois may soon become the fifth state that lets families install cameras in nursing homes. Advocates see the move as a way to help ensure peace of mind. But for many nursing homes, the development may...
In long-term care, the choice is simple. Maybe too simple.
By
John O'Connor
Jan 27, 2020
Many skilled care operators are in Model T mode. Unfortunately.