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....
Is it the docs’ turn to get stoned?
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 25, 2018
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services brought out its equivalent of a brass band and confetti machine Tuesday to tout a new provider payment strategy. One could almost hear strains of “Happy...
Why nursing homes won’t be catching many breaks this year
By
John O'Connor
Feb 03, 2014
When you talk to experts in this field about the year ahead, an unsettling pattern soon emerges. Almost everyone seems fairly confident that regulators will be taking a much closer look at operators.
Froyo funding for long-term care
By
Gary Tetz
Sep 11, 2014
I have been blessed with an astute business mind, and am always on the lookout for new pricing models for long-term care. I know we’re in this profession for love, not money. But no margin, no mission,...
Skilled care operators might want to curb their PDPM enthusiasm
By
John O'Connor
May 07, 2018
If some operators are getting the PDPM tingly-dinglys, I’m experiencing something else: a sense of déjà vu.
Now that was one tough week
By
John O'Connor
Jun 20, 2016
Most long-term care facilities would probably like to forget about last week. That’s because two figurative bombshells exploded.
Is the doctor in? Improve nursing homes with one easy stroke
By
Kenneth Lehmann
Apr 14, 2021
Many nursing home COVID-19 patients would have benefitted from daily, reimbursed-for physician visits in their skilled nursing facilities, but they were not entitled to them. With an epic crisis...
Why providers aren’t elated about new pay-for-quality goals
By
James M. Berklan
Jan 28, 2015
You can forgive long-term care providers if they weren’t outwardly jumping for joy at Monday’s announcement that Medicare is going to start paying for quality, and not quantity, of services.
Your money’s no good here
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 01, 2017
I’d say the thing we write about most often in this line of work is payment issues. As a long-term care provider, you are eternally under pressure with whether there will be enough to pay for everything.
Medical necessity — slippery for some
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Dec 02, 2011
Medical necessity has become a common phrase in healthcare terminology, but what exactly does it mean? Unfortunately, this term has become very subjective and is the primary reason we have been denied...