It’s easy to forget how quickly things have improved for LTC
By
John O'Connor
Apr 01, 2013
This publication and this sector were facing some very troubled times in 1990. That’s when I joined McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. The experts have a technical term for where the field and...
Frisky Alzheimer’s residents: ‘ew’ or ‘aw’?
By
John O'Connor
Mar 15, 2013
Alzheimer’s disease is very good at taking. It takes away memories. It takes away personalities. It can be argued that Alzheimer’s essentially takes away a person’s essence. And as almost...
When long-term care experts speak, things can get foggy
By
John O'Connor
Mar 11, 2013
I was hoping to get clear answers about the sector’s future at the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry’s regional meeting last week in San Diego. I did, but I...
Message from the White House: Don’t trust nursing homes
By
John O'Connor
Mar 08, 2013
Ever wonder how much regard the White House has for long-term care operators? A brief filed last week makes the answer abundantly clear: very little.
AHCA’s Parkinson ‘cautiously optimistic,’ despite sequester and other looming fiscal...
By
John O'Connor
Mar 07, 2013
A newly enacted sequester may be trimming Medicare payments to skilled nursing operators, but the sector remains strong and poised for future growth. That assessment was delivered Wednesday by the head...
A new way to save face
By
John O'Connor
Mar 01, 2013
When is face-to-face contact with a resident not such a good idea? When an avatar can do better. That’s just one lesson researchers like Timothy Bickmore, Ph.D., are proving. Bickmore is an assistant...
LTC insurance adjustment: Smart business move or blatant sexism?
By
John O'Connor
Mar 01, 2013
There’s an adage about insurance coverage: While the big print giveth, the small print taketh away. Genworth Financial — one of the nation’s largest long-term care insurance carriers –...
Why long-term care operators are wary – and weary – of sequestration fiasco
By
John O'Connor
Feb 22, 2013
Well, here we go again. Less than three months after President Obama and Congress narrowly avoided walking off a fiscal cliff, we’re bracing for Round 2. Only this time, we’re all a bit worse...
Is this the year therapy caps finally get repealed? Probably not
By
John O'Connor
Feb 15, 2013
Earlier this week, we saw lawmakers again take aim at Medicare’s outpatient therapy caps. Rightfully so. Therapy caps are a dubious idea that ought to be given a decent burial.
Obama attacks sequestration, Medicare payments in State of the Union address
By
John O'Connor
Feb 13, 2013
In a State of the Union address largely focused on jobs and the economy, President Obama challenged a divided Congress to avoid automatic funding cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, raise the minimum wage and...