Nurse practitioners will do more in skilled nursing facilities if ICAN Act becomes law
By
Joe Bush
Dec 13, 2022
US Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) is championing a bill authorizing nurse practitioners to expand their capabilities, including performing all mandatory examinations in skilled nursing facilities.
Brooks-LaSure: Medicare poised to re-evaluate coverage of new Alzheimer’s drugs
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 12, 2022
In a Milken Institute summit session, the CMS administrator said that Medicare’s door is open to evaluating new data on emerging Alzheimer’s drug candidates.
Lawmakers seek to bolster Medicare, Medicaid mental health coverage
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 07, 2022
Senators cited constituent concerns about so-called ghost networks — listings of physicians who are unavailable to provide care.
In-house hospice unit bucks long-standing SNF underuse
By
Joe Bush
Oct 27, 2022
While many nursing home patients who would qualify for hospice care never get it, a Pennsylvania provider is shoring up its efforts around end-of-life care with a new 16-bed hospice unit.
With little to show for past efforts, SNFs under the microscope again on readmissions
By
Joe Bush
Oct 27, 2022
A federal watchdog’s announcement this week that it plans to more closely scrutinize “possibly preventable” readmissions of skilled nursing patients to hospitals underscores the federal government’s...
CMS allows troubled California facility to keep residents, restart Medicare, Medicaid participation
By
Joe Bush
Oct 14, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services granted a huge and problem-plagued nursing home in San Francisco a new lifeline this week.
Financial incentives failing to fuel in-home dialysis
By
Diane Eastabrook
Oct 12, 2022
Efforts to increase in-home dialysis in the United States are falling flat, despite financial incentives to encourage the model, researchers report.
Projected Medicare Advantage growth to bring more provider headaches, more congressional scrutiny
By
Joe Bush
Oct 05, 2022
Several large insurance providers are expanding their Medicare Advantage plans to new states and hundreds more counties, effective in 2023, adding pressure on skilled nursing operators as enrollment booms.
It’s back to school with final rules
By
Renee Kinder
Aug 04, 2022
Time to fire up the printer, break out the highlighters and get back in the groove of learning. Within a week’s time the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued final rules for: Fiscal Year (FY)...
One quarter of SNFs stuck with Medicare margins below 4%
By
Danielle Brown
Jul 21, 2022
Medicare margins for all freestanding skilled nursing facilities across the United States varied widely in 2020, according to new data from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.