In-house hospice unit bucks long-standing SNF underuse
By
Joe Bush
Oct 27, 2022
While many nursing home patients who would qualify for hospice care never get it, a Pennsylvania provider is shoring up its efforts around end-of-life care with a new 16-bed hospice unit.
BREAKING 2: It’s official: Nursing homes must vaccinate employees or lose Medicaid, Medicare funding
By
Danielle Brown
Aug 18, 2021
President Joe Biden announced late Wednesday afternoon that U.S. nursing homes must use workers vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing vital Medicare and Medicaid funding.
Mixed bag for heart failure patients: less time in hospital but bigger risks at home
Jun 03, 2010
First the good news: Medicare beneficiaries are experiencing shorter hospital stays and lower rates of in-hospital deaths after suffering heart failure. Now the not-so-good news: Out-of-hospital deaths...
New CMS rule to eliminate section of MDS, revise RUGs
Aug 25, 2009
A controversial new rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid rule will recalibrate Medicare case mixes under the Resource Utilization Group (RUG) system. Specifically, it will eliminate a section...
Fix Medicare funding woes ‘forever’ by eliminating subsidy for wealthy, conservative says
By
McKnight's Staff
May 15, 2012
Wealthy seniors should pay more in Medicare premiums, according to a brief from the conservative Heritage Foundation.
‘Observation status’ provision under further review
By
John Hall
Feb 27, 2015
The American Health Care Association on Thursday applauded a House measure that would inform Medicare beneficiaries of their observation status as hospital inpatient or outpatients. But that might be little...
Nurse ratios to drop
Apr 01, 2008
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) issued a mandate last month to lower the ratio of nurses to residents in nursing homes.
Social Security recipients cannot opt out of Medicare, appeals court rules
Feb 09, 2012
Senior citizens who receive Social Security benefits cannot opt out of Medicare and rely solely on private insurance, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
Feds tell nursing homes to use vaccinated staff or lose funding: Providers cry foul
By
Danielle Brown
Aug 19, 2021
President Joe Biden announced late Wednesday afternoon that U.S. nursing homes must use workers vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing vital Medicare and Medicaid funding. Providers immediately criticized...
CMS should modernize hospital admission status policies, say provider groups
By
McKnight's Staff
Sep 07, 2012
Provider groups assert regulators should update existing policies when determining hospital inpatient and outpatient admission status.