Scrooged again: MA plans can’t escape criticism of clandestine coverage rules
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 02, 2024
If you were looking for someone deserving to be cast as Ebeneezer Scrooge this holiday season, Medicare Advantage insurers may have just locked up the audition (for this year and maybe future years too).
Hitting the road for rural respect
By
Kimberly Marselas
Oct 17, 2023
This week takes me on a road trip, but I assure you there’s no VW bus with a dashboard full of party snacks.
Are nursing homes headed for an 80% direct-spend rule?
By
Kimberly Marselas
Dec 11, 2023
A national union on Friday skewed comments made by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to imply federal regulators had proposed an 80% direct care spending requirement for the nursing home...
Nightmare agency data is a dream-like bounty for the plaintiff’s bar
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 20, 2024
Too bad aboutlawsuits.com — a solicitation site for Maryland personal injury firm Saiontz & Kirk gussied up with a few educational-seeming blogs — saw dollar signs instead of warning signs in a recent...
Nursing homes will be required to report more details about their ownership structure and type under a final rule issued today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service.
2nd annual McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards gala honors veteran leaders at their peak
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 22, 2024
A sold-out crowd celebrated the second class of McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards winners Thursday night in a lively event that combined networking with unabashed appreciation for some of the aging services...
Cost, interpretation of new enhanced barrier precautions worry providers as rule kicks in
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 03, 2024
A new set of regulations requiring the use of enhanced barrier precautions for many nursing home patients has left providers scrambling to understand the rationale behind some standards and grappling with...
BREAKING: CMS nursing home staffing mandate in question after study leaks
By
James M. Berklan
Kimberly Marselas
Aug 29, 2023
The accidental online posting Tuesday afternoon of a study commissioned by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services seems to indicate that the White House’s grand plans for a first-ever nursing home...
Wait-and-see staffing rule exemptions meant to ‘safeguard’ residents: CMS
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 25, 2024
Skilled nursing providers will not have to go through a stand-alone application process to be exempted from provisions of a new federal staffing mandate, an official with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
Expect another Five-Star freeze amid nursing home survey delays, experts warn
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 20, 2024
Staffing measures used to calculate nursing homes’ federal ratings will freeze in April, further complicating a system based on often outdated and constantly changing metrics, experts warned last week.