Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) issued a mandate last month to lower the ratio of nurses to residents in nursing homes.
Feds’ ‘dramatic expansion’ of telehealth widens payment coverage; HIPAA rules are relaxed for COVID-19
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 18, 2020
The federal government removed Medicare restrictions for telehealth coverage nationwide Tuesday while also temporarily relaxing HIPAA obligations for providers. The latter opens the door for doctors’...
At the crossroads: Legal considerations where government investigations overlap with tort risk in long-term...
By
Tom Barnard
Jill Steinberg
May 19, 2020
Note: See full list of authors below story. In roughly the seventh week after a majority of states and the federal government issued emergency declarations or “lock down” executive orders,...
Therapy carnage at start of PDPM not as severe as feared: study
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 02, 2021
The first academic study of its kind has found that the first three months of nursing homes’ overhauled Medicare payment system at the end of 2019 led to a distinct drop-off in the employed number of...
BREAKING: U.S. nursing home system ‘ineffective,’ ‘unsustainable,’ National Academies...
By
Danielle Brown
Apr 06, 2022
A long-awaited national report has found that the way the United States finances, delivers and regulates nursing home care is ineffective and unstable. Immediate action is needed to bring meaningful changes...
BREAKING: Federal regulators tout $15M in fines, tripling of ‘Immediate Jeopardy’ citations against...
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 14, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Friday afternoon that it has levied more than $15 million in fines and tripled the most severe type of citations to nursing homes during the six months...
My job in a COVID-19 hotspot didn’t give me COVID — it gave me PTSD
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Aug 11, 2020
Even a long-term care psychologist can fall prey to the psychological and emotional terrors of the COVID-19 pandemic, I can unfortunately report to you with ironic confidence.
Providers happy nursing homes are among White House’s top priorities but disheartened at approach
By
Danielle Brown
Mar 02, 2022
Long-term care advocates say they are grateful President Joe Biden is placing what they call a much-needed priority on nursing homes, but the administration’s plan to crack down on providers through...
BREAKING: CMS finalizes 2.7% pay raise, two year phase-in for PDPM cuts
By
Danielle Brown
Jul 29, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Friday afternoon announced a finalized cut to nursing home Medicare pay rates for fiscal 2023.
Nursing home leaders unraveling after months of pandemic dangers, workloads, McKnight’s survey shows
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 07, 2021
Findings of the 2021 McKnight’s Mood of the Market survey shed unsettling light on fragile workplaces and severely tested workforces.