Medicare should pay for skilled nursing services without a qualifying hospital stay, experts tell Senators
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 31, 2014
The time has come to eliminate hospital stay requirements for beneficiaries to qualify for Medicare coverage of skilled nursing services, experts told a Senate committee Wednesday.
Nursing home infection rates have increased across the board, hepatitis has surged 50%, Columbia researchers...
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 09, 2014
The rate of nursing home infections increased during a recent five-year period, with especially dramatic surges in multi-drug resistant organisms and viral hepatitis, according to recently published findings...
Day in the Life: Sniffing out wandering residents
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 01, 2014
Long-term care providers might want to get themselves an Acki to help locate residents who wander from the premises. No, Acki is not the name of a brand new electronic monitoring system. Acki is a German...
Drug agency officially proposes to restrict access to hydrocodone medications
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 05, 2014
The federal government is on the verge of tightening access to Vicodin and similar types of painkillers by moving the drugs from Schedule III to Schedule II classification. Long-term care providers have...
With ICD-10 transition date firm and testing imminent, Medicare agency releases new provider resources
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 28, 2014
Long-term care providers can refer to newly released materials about looming ICD-10 testing and the overall transition to the new coding system, but they should not expect any delay in the Oct. 1 transition...
FDA proposes glucose meter guidance to improve infection control in nursing homes, hospitals
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 09, 2014
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has drafted more stringent guidelines for blood glucose monitoring test systems used in nursing homes, hospitals and other healthcare settings.
CMS memo explains four-part testing approach for ICD-10 implementation
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 20, 2014
A new transmittal from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provides details about its four-part approach to implementing ICD-10 codes for Medicare fee-for-service claims. Medicare providers will...
Rents increased in nursing homes, independent living facilities, NIC quarterly data shows
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 14, 2014
Nursing homes’ private pay rents increased in the fourth quarter of 2013, but independent living rents showed the biggest uptick in the seniors housing sector, according to data from the National...
Huge West Virginia chemical spill hits long-term care facilities
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 13, 2014
Long-term care facilities in nine West Virginia counties were in emergency response mode Friday, after a huge chemical spill created a federally declared disaster and rendered tap water unusable.
House and Senate ACA-replacement bills propose universal long-term care coverage
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 11, 2013
Lawmakers in both houses of Congress have introduced a bill to institute a single-payer healthcare system that would include universal long-term care coverage.