First staffing mandate deadline nears, bringing compliance and legal threats: AHCA VP warns
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jun 05, 2024
Skilled nursing providers cannot “blow off” a fast-approaching requirement to update their facility assessments using new elements, a sector top advocate warned
CMS provides first look at shorter, Risk-Based Survey process
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 04, 2024
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday revealed initial information about a potential “Risk-Based Survey” option that could be available to some of the nation’s best performing...
Gripped by uncertainty, skilled nursing providers just keep breathing
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 10, 2024
Uncertainty may very well be the defining outlook for skilled nursing providers in 2024. At the very least, it was the theme that dominated our annual survey attempting to capture your attitudes heading...
Senator renews call for surveyor funding after staffing rule release
By
Kimberly Marselas
Sep 15, 2023
An influential senator is renewing his calls for increased funding for state survey agencies, following the release earlier this month of a federal staffing minimum that would require extensive on-site...
Nursing home survey processes to be pared back, new MDS items added in 2024: CMS
By
Kimberly Marselas
Dec 07, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be testing truncated survey processes starting in 2024, part of an effort to make on-site inspections more efficient as the agency deals with multiple...
Standard surveys continue to lag, with infection control a major tripwire
By
Kimberly Marselas
Oct 24, 2023
A year and a half after a federal watchdog blasted the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services over extensive delays in nursing home inspections, year-end data for fiscal year 2023 shows there has been...
The staffing rule’s Swiss cheese factor
By
Kimberly Marselas
Sep 08, 2023
There’s a glaring hole in the proposed federal staffing mandate, and no, I’m not talking about that same blackhole that’s apparently sucked in 190,000 skilled nursing workers with no sign of spitting...
Expect another Five-Star freeze amid nursing home survey delays, experts warn
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 20, 2024
Staffing measures used to calculate nursing homes’ federal ratings will freeze in April, further complicating a system based on often outdated and constantly changing metrics, experts warned last week.
Need a fresh survey strategy? CMS lays out 3
By
Kimberly Marselas
Dec 05, 2023
CMS officials have delivered an early gift to help providers like you map out where they should focus their compliance efforts — not just for 2024, but for 2025 as well.
One state seeks to return polish to star ratings. How long will the rest take?
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 27, 2024
More ratings, relationships and payment incentives are tied to nursing home data than ever before, but that data also appears to be harder than just about ever to collect in a timely manner.