Clearly, the assisted living field has made some amazing strides in the past few decades.
Odds don’t favor another round of Obamacare
By
John O'Connor
Apr 23, 2012
The Supreme Court may be two months away from announcing whether President Barack Obama’s health care law is legal. But court watchers are already speculating on what will happen if the measure is...
When it comes to fixing long-term care, it’s time to start thinking outside the tank
By
John O'Connor
Apr 18, 2014
I was reminded of a cinema classic when I heard another think tank is being put together to consider improvements for our nation’s long-term care system.
What’s more frightening than the nursing shortage? What’s driving it
By
John O'Connor
Jun 12, 2015
To better appreciate this sector’s alarming nurse-staffing nightmare, it’s helpful to recall the warden’s famous line in Cool Hand Luke: “What we’ve got here is failure to...
Our elected officials: patriots or lackeys?
By
John O'Connor
Mar 26, 2012
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that our elected leaders need to quit playing political chicken. Otherwise, there are going to be some bleak days ahead for We the People.
Bizarre decision shows that when it comes to 3-day stay rule, there ought to be a law
By
John O'Connor
Oct 11, 2013
There are many odd animals roaming our healthcare industrial complex. But few are more bizarre than Medicare’s three-day rule. Or more deserving of extinction.
As HUD gets its house in order, more long-term care operators are buying in
By
John O'Connor
Dec 10, 2012
It wasn’t so long ago that long-term care operators looked at HUD funding with a disdain bordering on contempt. But the Department of Housing and Urban Development has come a long way in a short...
God help providers accused of religious discrimination
By
John O'Connor
Aug 15, 2014
There was a time when reading Gary Larson’s “The Far Side” was an essential part of my daily routine. Yes, the now-defunct strip was a bit quirky, but it was almost always good for a...
Promising signs on the regulatory front
By
John O'Connor
Oct 16, 2017
President Trump is no fan of regulations, and long-term care operators have more than their fair share to contend with. So it’s a welcome breeze when Trump says he wants to start eliminating some...
Why nursing homes won’t be catching many breaks this year
By
John O'Connor
Feb 03, 2014
When you talk to experts in this field about the year ahead, an unsettling pattern soon emerges. Almost everyone seems fairly confident that regulators will be taking a much closer look at operators.