CMS: Lower COVID rates linked to higher nursing home quality ratings
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 02, 2021
Higher facility star ratings are tied to lower COVID transmission rates and fewer deaths, according to the agency’s chief medical officer and director of its Center for Clinical Standards and Quality.
Pressure mounting on CMS to exclude COVID vaccination data in quality reporting
By
Danielle Brown
Jun 18, 2021
More long-term care stakeholders are calling on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to ditch its proposal to expand the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program to include staff COVID-19...
BREAKING: HHS reveals provider incentive plan for remaining $2 billion in relief funding
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 03, 2020
The Department of Health and Human Services announced it will use infection and mortality rates to determine nursing home incentive pay when distributing a previously announced $2 billion Provider Relief...
The top long-term care news stories of 2021
By
Danielle Brown
Dec 26, 2021
Here’s a rundown of the top stories that McKnight’s Long-Term Care News readers opened over the past 12 months.
County COVID-19 rates will dictate staff testing frequency, new CMS guidance says
By
Liza Berger
Aug 27, 2020
Routine testing of staff now will be based on the level of COVID-19 activity in the community. That’s according to official new guidance released Wednesday in response to federal regulatory changes disclosed...
CMS ‘getting pretty close’ to releasing details of COVID-19 vaccination mandate
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 05, 2021
Long-term care providers and other healthcare employers remain in the dark as to what will be required with the federal government’s impending COVID-19 vaccination mandate for employees.
PPE, staff shortages unchanged: CMS data show 1 in 5 facilities ‘severely’ affected
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 24, 2020
There were notable clusters of equipment shortfalls in certain states. A quarter of U.S. counties had at least 44% of nursing homes reporting low staffing levels.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will not be enforcing its rule requiring healthcare workers at Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities to be vaccinated against COVID-19 while preliminary...
Nursing homes criticize CMS chest-thumping about $15.5M pandemic fines, severe citations
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 17, 2020
Nursing home operators were left shaking their heads and criticizing the Trump administration over the weekend after the latter touted larger than usual numbers of serious citations and fine amounts against...
New federal reopening guidance calls for nursing home staff and residents to receive COVID-19 test results,...
By
Liza Berger
May 19, 2020
Nursing home residents and staff members must receive baseline COVID-19 test results before relaxing any restrictions or advancing through phases of reopening under new federal guidance issued Monday by...