Obama seeks bipartisanship, so long as it happens his way
By
John O'Connor
Mar 02, 2013
In a State of the Union address that largely touted objectives favored by Democrats, President Obama called on Republicans to be less partisan.
RAC audits often inaccurate, group claims
By
John O'Connor
Dec 02, 2012
A major hospital group has called for a federal investigation into mistakes made by recovery audit contractors.
Lawmakers demand answers about rating system quirks
By
John O'Connor
Oct 01, 2014
After The New York Times noted that providers are apparently gaming the Five Star rating system by enhancing staffing and quality data, federal lawmakers quickly put an indignant pen to paper.
Medicare, Medicaid likely to start requiring tech tool use
By
John O'Connor
Sep 01, 2013
As sharing of electronic health information becomes standard across all care settings, using technology may become a prerequisite for providers to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, according...
This cliffhanger shows few signs of a happy ending
By
John O'Connor
Oct 19, 2012
If you are hoping to learn before the Nov. 6 election whether planned federal budget cuts might be avoided, I have some advice: forget about it.
Enforcement of privacy rules now delayed until March 31
By
John O'Connor
Feb 01, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has pushed back enforcement of two electronic healthcare transaction rules by three months, the agency announced in January. That gives providers until March...
Survey: More nursing homes are considering e-prescribing
By
John O'Connor
Sep 01, 2011
Most facility operators responding to a new survey say that their next technology-related purchase will be an e-prescribing system. That’s according to findings relayed in the Aug. 9 McKnight’s...
Good news, for lawyers
By
John O'Connor
Feb 02, 2013
We journalists tend to get all warm and tingly when previously guarded information is finally made public. It must be in our DNA.
These 3 won’t happen
By
John O'Connor
Feb 08, 2018
There’s nothing quite like a new calendar to get media types acting like story forecasters. What might be more helpful is a brief list of things that won’t be taking place.
The real labor problem
By
John O'Connor
May 01, 2013
Long-term care operators are understandably giddy about the sudden prospect of immigration reform. Such a change holds the promise of a larger labor pool at a time of rampant worker shortages. Add in the...