Amount of post-acute care accounts for regional differences in Medicare spending, report says
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 26, 2013
Geographic variations in Medicare payments can be largely explained by how much skilled nursing and post-acute care is being used, according to a recently released interim report from the Institute of...
Debate over healthcare spending continues as House, Senate pass budgets
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 25, 2013
Both houses of Congress passed budgets late last week, setting up the next phase of the ongoing debate over healthcare spending.
TODAY’S THE DAY: McKnight’s Online Expo kicks off with session on MDS 3.0 as lawmakers reintroduce...
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 20, 2013
Representatives Sam Graves (R-MO) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) recently reintroduced a bill to ease audit burdens on long-term care providers. Initially put forward in Oct. 2012, the Medicare Audit Improvement...
Senate Democrats’ budget focuses on cost savings through the Affordable Care Act
By
McKnight's Staff
Mar 15, 2013
Senate Budget Chairman Patty Murray (D-WA) unveiled a proposed budget Wednesday, offering a plan that contrasts with the one offered earlier in the week by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI).
AHCA’s Parkinson ‘cautiously optimistic,’ despite sequester and other looming fiscal...
By
John O'Connor
Mar 07, 2013
A newly enacted sequester may be trimming Medicare payments to skilled nursing operators, but the sector remains strong and poised for future growth. That assessment was delivered Wednesday by the head...
Medicare concessions possible, Obama says
By
John O'Connor
Mar 02, 2013
President Obama touched on several issues that matter to long-term care operators during last month’s State of the Union address. His most urgent message to lawmakers: Do not not allow sequestration...
Sequester would cost SNFs more than $782 million, hit Florida especially hard, report asserts
By
McKnight's Staff
Feb 28, 2013
Skilled nursing facilities in highly populated states on the East Coast and in the Midwest would be hit hardest by Medicare cuts if sequestration takes effect, according to figures released by the Alliance...
One week to go: Providers anxious about Medicare automatic spending cuts
Feb 22, 2013
All eyes will be on Congress when it reconvenes Monday. Lawmakers will have just four days to act if they are to derail automatic spending cuts that would take 2% off the top of Medicare reimbursements....
Why long-term care operators are wary – and weary – of sequestration fiasco
By
John O'Connor
Feb 22, 2013
Well, here we go again. Less than three months after President Obama and Congress narrowly avoided walking off a fiscal cliff, we’re bracing for Round 2. Only this time, we’re all a bit worse...
Obama attacks sequestration, Medicare payments in State of the Union address
By
John O'Connor
Feb 13, 2013
In a State of the Union address largely focused on jobs and the economy, President Obama challenged a divided Congress to avoid automatic funding cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, raise the minimum wage and...