Sector, consumer advocates vent shared frustrations on Medicare Advantage lack of transparency to CMS
By
Josh Henreckson
Jun 02, 2024
Long-term care leaders and consumer advocates — often at odds over nursing home policy — have voiced their shared frustrations about Medicare Advantage plans to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
Judge clears way for new Petersen Health financing as bankruptcy advances
By
Kimberly Marselas
Josh Henreckson
May 16, 2024
Petersen Health Care can borrow $45 million while in Chapter 11 bankruptcy to maintain operations at its nursing homes and make the properties more appealing to potential buyers, a federal bankruptcy judge...
Vet and health leaders push for $7.5M more for nursing home infection control and private rooms
By
Josh Henreckson
Apr 04, 2024
Leaders of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Department of Health have called on state lawmakers to pump $7.5 million more for nursing home funding into the governor’s proposed...
Health lawyers, bioethicist call for tighter regulation of AI in prior authorizations
By
Josh Henreckson
Jul 11, 2024
While artificial intelligence promises exciting efficiency benefits, its usage in insurance prior authorizations demands wider and more holistic oversight from state and federal bodies, a trio of experts...
Specialist visits to nursing homes could increase under doc pay rule proposal
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jul 12, 2024
A proposal tucked into the physician fee schedule issued last week includes a new payment mechanism that could improve follow-up care in nursing homes for post-surgical patients, including those with hip...
Dietitians urge CMS to keep extra pay for malnourished nursing home residents
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jul 11, 2024
Dietitians who work with nursing home patients are urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services not to remove critical coding that helps identify seniors either with malnutrition or at risk for...
With CMPs in the spotlight, persistent provider gets its penalties cut by 86 percent
By
Josh Henreckson
Apr 01, 2024
An Arizona long-term care provider facing a quarter-million-dollar penalty for alleged HIPAA infractions converted that judgment into a settlement for just one-seventh that amount after a diligent defense...
MedPAC disappoints with lacking skilled nursing commentary, no action on Medicare Advantage prior authorization...
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jun 13, 2024
A Congressional advisory commission on Thursday declined to issue recommendations on improving Medicare Advantage prior authorizations, MA data transparency, or lowering payments to inpatient rehabilitation...
Analytics firm takes on EHR giant PointClickCare in ‘life and death’ information sharing lawsuit
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jun 12, 2024
Real Time Medical Systems has asked a federal judge to force the nation’s largest post-acute EHR provider to keep its clients’ data accessible, saying information blocking “will cause needless patient...
Frustration, fury: Lawmakers renew push as new report skewers drug middlemen on pricing
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jul 10, 2024
An interim report issued by federal officials this week excoriated pharmacy sales middlemen over business practices that have grossly inflated drug prices — and made it harder for long-term care pharmacists...