‘We will not go back’ to early pandemic restriction, CMS leader says
By
Kimberly Marselas
Joe Bush
Oct 17, 2022
Promoting a return to normalcy, a top CMS official said Sunday that nursing homes will not return to the stringent isolation policies of the early pandemic.
15 governors tell Biden ‘unrealistic’ staffing rule would unravel state efforts
By
Kimberly Marselas
Nov 03, 2023
A group of 15 Republican governors this week urged President Joe Biden to reconsider the federal staffing mandate his administration has proposed for the nation’s 15,000 nursing homes.
Warning on staffing minimum: Studying costs won’t matter if pay doesn’t add up
By
Kimberly Marselas
Aug 30, 2022
Cost analysis will be “an important part” of a final report on federal minimum staffing standards, the head of a national study assured nursing home stakeholders Monday.
8-hour training requirement attracts thousands to CNA pathway
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 17, 2021
A stop-gap effort to supplement nursing home staff by lowering some entry-level training requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic may become permanent if Florida lawmakers have their way.
Advocacy group calls on CMS to increase Medicare audits, expand review criteria
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 08, 2018
The Council for Medicare Integrity this week asked Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to expand efforts to reduce improper Medicare billing as heading off some planned program cuts.
Also in the News for Monday, May 1
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 01, 2023
Maine getting fresh round of state COVID funding … Feds must ramp up efforts against antibiotic resistance: GAO … HHS BinaxNOW test distribution program to continue after PHE ends …
Plaintiff attorneys claim CMS is blocking once-public nursing home info under Trump
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 22, 2018
Attorneys who investigate abuse and neglect at the nation’s nursing homes say the Trump administration is blocking access to records and charging large fees when they do produce them, according to...
Veterans Affairs plans to borrow from the CMS fraud-prevention playbook
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 24, 2018
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will share its best fraud prevention tactics used against nursing homes and other providers with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the agencies said...
‘High stakes’ as providers still face brisk infection control surveys, brace for return of standard...
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 10, 2021
Nursing homes across the country are still being hit with near-routine Focused Infection Control surveys, nine months after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that surveyors should...
Measuring patient function a big hitch in creating fair, post-acute pay
By
Kimberly Marselas
Sep 30, 2022
As a Congressional advisory board grapples with how to bring all post-acute providers under a single payment system, the use of self-reported data continues to raise doubts about the ability to accurately...