Structured home care program reduced SNF stays 27%, hospital finds
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 06, 2014
A hospital substantially reduced Medicare costs and skilled nursing facility stays by providing more primary care in frail elders’ homes, according to study findings published in the Journal of the...
HHS gives shooter guidance for healthcare facilities
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 01, 2015
Federal agencies have issued guidance for how healthcare providers should prepare for an active shooter emergency. The 33-page document covers threat assessment, actions to take during and after an emergency,...
Court tosses lawsuit over Medicare appeals backlog
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 23, 2014
Healthcare providers cannot expect the justice system to help resolve a huge backlog of Medicare appeals, a U.S. District Court judge recently ruled.
Hospice benefit should be redesigned with nursing home residents in mind, researcher says
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 11, 2014
Medicare policy should change to better support nursing home residents who need hospice care, say investigators at the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University Center for Aging Research. They have...
House leader urges HHS to end settlements meant to cut Medicare backlog
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 17, 2014
The Department of Health and Human Services may not have had the authority to offer providers special settlements to help clear a huge backlog of Medicare appeals, a leading Congressman said in a recent...
Time is limited for ACO deals
By
Tim Mullaney
Jun 01, 2013
By negotiating now, a nursing home can have a strong voice in an Accountable Care Organization. Otherwise, ACOs will come to nursing homes in two or three years with a “take it or leave it”...
Assisted living residents cannot sue under nursing home law in New Jersey, federal court rules
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 05, 2014
A state law to protect nursing home residents cannot be invoked to bring a suit against an assisted living provider, a federal judge recently ruled, reversing his earlier decision.
Medicare penalties far exceed bonus payments to hospitals, analysis finds
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 23, 2015
Recently implemented Medicare penalties are having a greater impact on hospitals than newly available bonuses, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis.
Hospice is growing fastest in skilled nursing facilities, new report shows
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 05, 2014
Hospice services increased in nursing homes more than in any other care setting last year, according to the latest annual report from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
CMS updates coding instructions for hospice site of service, principal diagnosis
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 02, 2014
A new Medicare hospice manual update includes instructions for which principal diagnosis codes are acceptable, and clarifies which codes should be used for services in a skilled versus non-skilled nursing...