Nurse practitioners will do more in skilled nursing facilities if ICAN Act becomes law
By
Joe Bush
Dec 13, 2022
US Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) is championing a bill authorizing nurse practitioners to expand their capabilities, including performing all mandatory examinations in skilled nursing facilities.
Psychiatry company settles Medicare fraud allegations for $1 million
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jul 22, 2013
A New York company that provided psychiatry services to nursing home residents with dementia has settled a whistleblower Medicare fraud case for $1 million.
CMS: Nursing home Medicare cuts helped keep healthcare spending at historic low levels
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 07, 2014
Dramatic Medicare cuts to skilled nursing facilities played a significant part in keeping healthcare spending low in 2012, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Monday.
Unsettled business
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 20, 2011
The opening of the American Health Care Association’s annual meeting took on a familiar air Monday afternoon in Las Vegas: A lot of proud retrospectives of a year gone by, prerequisite hand-wringing...
Physical therapy group praises Congress for thwarting 3.4 percent doc pay cuts
By
Kristen Fischer
Mar 13, 2024
The Alliance for Physical Therapy Quality and Innovation (APTQI) this week voiced its support of Congress for stopping a 3.4% cut to physicians’ pay that was included in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule...
Gap between long-term care costs and Medicaid payments was widest ever last year, report finds
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 15, 2014
Medicaid underfunded long-term care by the greatest margin on record in 2013, according to a new report from the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living, the nation’s...
Open up and say ‘Aha’
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 01, 2010
OK, raise your hand if you were surprised to learn that physicians averted a major Medicare pay cut that was supposed to take place this week. Didn’t think so. I wasn’t either.
Sorry, that’s not the full recipe for fixing nursing homes
By
John O'Connor
Jun 04, 2012
The Atlantic’s recent article called ‘How to Fix Nursing Homes’ is a well-written and thoughtful piece. My only gripe is that the headline is a bit of a reach.
OIG urges CMS to evaluate home health use of telehealth
By
Diane Eastabrook
Oct 21, 2022
The Office of Inspector General has urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to evaluate how the use of telehealth affected the quality of home healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Providers holding breath for Senate ‘doc fix’ vote
By
John Hall
Mar 27, 2015
As expected, the House of Representatives on Thursday repealed the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), earning loud praise from the American Health Care Association.