Medicare telehealth waivers could get two-year extension
By
Danielle Brown
Feb 14, 2022
Two U.S. lawmakers are pushing to broaden Medicare telehealth flexibilities adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic by two years.
CDC loosens controversial opioid prescribing guidelines for chronic pain
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 14, 2022
Draft revisions no longer include specific dosage ceilings. This and other changes address controversial elements of the older guidance and highlight clinicians’ roles in opioid prescribing decisions.
Gait speed slows long before dementia diagnosis, 15-year study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 11, 2022
Slowing gait speed may signal the onset of dementia up to nine years before cognitive decline becomes evident, investigators say. It’s also linked to Alzheimer’s-related brain changes.
CMS shares LTC booster data; coverage among residents meets national average
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 10, 2022
Nursing home booster vaccination data is now available on the Medicare.gov Care Compare website as part of CMS’s effort to help increase facility vaccination coverage, the agency said Wednesday.
CMS warns states: Survey fully or suffer consequences
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 10, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Wednesday sternly warned state survey agencies they must enforce all aspects of the federal program’s health and safety requirements by long-standing agreement.
CMS begins posting nursing home COVID-19 booster data
By
Danielle Brown
Feb 10, 2022
Nursing home COVID-19 booster vaccination data is now being posted online by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which called the move an effort to “improve transparency” for consumers.
16 states file new lawsuit against healthcare worker COVID vaccine mandate
By
Danielle Brown
Feb 08, 2022
Sixteen states are making another push to stop the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers nearly a month after the Supreme Court upheld the regulation.
Link Medicaid hikes to worker pay to promote staff equity, researchers say
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 08, 2022
Tying increases in state Medicaid rates to wages would be an important way to address the disproportionate representation of Black women in long-term care’s lowest paying positions, say researchers...
Marquis-Consonus’ Steve Fogg: ‘Creative’ funding, education will pave route to success
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 07, 2022
Even some of the most progressive long-term care executives have had to put deep, strategic initiatives aside while coping with historically challenging pandemic conditions.
Unvaccinated have highest SARS-CoV-2 incidence, hospitalization
Feb 02, 2022
COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates are consistently higher for unvaccinated persons, and lowest for those fully vaccinated with a booster, according to research published Monday by the CDC.