AHCA pressures CMS, lawmakers to wait on ‘five-star’ rating system
Nov 25, 2008
The pending “five-star” nursing home rating system should be delayed because it would not accurately reflect the quality of the nation’s nursing homes, the American Health Care Association...
CMS may not cover bariatric surgery for non-obese diabetics
Nov 24, 2008
Medicare would not cover bariatric surgeries for people who have diabetes but are not morbidly obese, according to a policy proposed recently by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Medicaid reform pilot to enhance choices confuses beneficiaries
Oct 17, 2008
A Florida pilot program designed to give Medicare beneficiaries more choice and control concerning their healthcare plans has led to more confusion than anything else, according to a recent review by the...
Yarwood: Five-star rating system, card-check legislation loom large
Oct 07, 2008
While the nursing home industry can be proud of its accomplishments in Washington over the last year, many challenges await. These include card-check legislation in Congress and a problematic five-star...
States react to OIG nursing home deficiency report
Oct 03, 2008
After the release of a recent Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General report on nursing home violations, states are coming out in defense of their records.
Tougher economy means greater likelihood of Medicaid cuts, Kaiser survey reveals
Oct 01, 2008
A new survey of state officials shows that increasing budget pressures could lead states to start clicking down their Medicaid programs. Most have resisted cuts thus far, but the odds of that continuing...
States fail to report troubled Medicaid providers to OIG, report finds
Aug 14, 2008
States are not reporting those Medicaid providers that have been suspended or excluded from their state programs, according to a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector...
Nursing-home study: Inspection system ‘broken and can’t be fixed’
Aug 13, 2008
A leading nursing-home association is calling for an independent panel to come up with new methods for overseeing nursing facilities. The association’s task force issued 31 recommendations Tuesday,...
Brookings briefing addresses long-term care survey process, job training
Jul 15, 2008
Redesigning the regulatory survey of nursing homes would help determine how far current resources can be stretched to improve quality, according to a panelist who participated in a long-term care reform...
Regulators go overtime fielding comments and questions on nursing home star-rating system
Jun 25, 2008
While the focus of regulators’ “Open Door Forum” conference call Tuesday might have first appeared to be about getting ready for the December rollout of a new nursing home ranking system,...