Ask the payment expert … about quality and reimbursement correlations
By
Patricia Boyer
Jun 01, 2013
How can the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services correlate quality of care and reimbursement?
You always need to remember that Medicare is an insurance plan. As such, Medicare has rules, just like...
CMS updates survey guidelines for antipsychotic drugs in dementia care
By
McKnight's Staff
May 31, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated survey guidelines regarding nursing homes’ use of antipsychotic medications for dementia care. The 59-page interim guidance revises Appendix...
Sequester cuts are bringing changes to survey process
By
McKnight's Staff
May 01, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will change some nursing home survey procedures in response to budget cuts from sequestration, according to memos released April 9. The CMS Survey & Certification...
CMS revises survey guidelines for some long-term care providers with Immediate Jeopardy citations
By
McKnight's Staff
Apr 24, 2013
Regional authorities will decide whether to conduct full surveys of deemed long-term care providers that are cited for Immediate Jeopardy, according to recently revised guidelines from the Centers for...
CMS work group recommends approach for employing former criminals in long-term care settings
By
McKnight's Staff
Apr 19, 2013
Long-term care providers and states should agree on what a “direct access employee” is and whether that person has a criminal conviction that should keep him or her from working in a nursing...
CMS changes nursing home inspections in response to sequestration cuts
By
McKnight's Staff
Apr 10, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will change some nursing home survey procedures in response to budget cuts from sequestration, according to memos released Tuesday. The CMS Survey & Certification...
F-Tag 322 (Feeding Tubes): Are our systems in order?
By
Susan LaGrange
Apr 04, 2013
CMS recently made changes to surveyor guidance on feeding tubes. Nursing homes must look at their policies, documentation and education practices in order to assess whether a feeding tube is appropriate.
Feds offer more support for workers’ background checks
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 01, 2013
A federal agency is again offering to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to employee background checks for long-term care providers. All direct-care employees could potentially be affected.
Regulations for nursing home ethics programs and QAPI still in the works, administrators say
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 22, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is still working on the regulations for ethics and compliance programs that nursing homes were supposed to have implemented this month, CMS administrators admitted...
CMS adds appeals process in final nursing home-closure rule
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 19, 2013
Long-term care facilities will have to notify the federal government, state survey agencies, state long-term care ombudsmen, residents and residents’ legal representatives at least 60 days in advance...