Back from the brink: Inside the battle to save nation’s second-largest nursing home
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 15, 2024
BALTIMORE — Two years after federal officials stripped the nation’s second largest nursing home of its Medicare and Medicaid certification, officials have outlined the 960-step plan it took to walk...
With ‘hundreds’ of facilities audited over schizophrenia, CMS pursues harsher antipsychotics stance
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 19, 2024
With half of nursing homes audited in a new process admitting to misdiagnosing schizophrenia patients, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is extending its drive to reduce the use of certain drugs...
Section D surprises! The season’s biggest change
By
Joel VanEaton
Oct 31, 2023
There has been a slogan that has circulated on social media recently that goes like this: “Fall is proof that change is beautiful.” Hmm… I suppose individual perspective is the key to whether that...
Providers find few silver linings, stew over minimum staffing demands
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 05, 2023
The initial jolt of the newly proposed nursing home staffing mandate has softened little over the long holiday weekend and now those tasked with making it work — providers — are coming to grips with...
OIG to audit CMS oversight of state-contracted nursing home surveyors
By
Josh Henreckson
Jan 23, 2024
A top federal watchdog will audit the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ nursing home survey practices in 2024, according to a new report.
Staffing rule could bring system ‘collapse,’ providers say, but CMS stands firm
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 27, 2023
Nursing homes’ leading lobbying organization unloaded a full, research-backed attack on the viability of the White House’s proposed staffing mandate Tuesday. But the administration was unmoved, and...
CMS makes 60 changes to finalize new MDS playbook
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 25, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the final version of the new Resident Assessment Instrument manual Thursday .
Nursing home critics attack staffing cost argument, urge providers to come to the table
By
Kimberly Marselas
Sep 21, 2023
Federal officials and the public need more visibility into nursing home spending to determine whether their concerns about the cost of complying with a nationwide staffing mandate are justified, well-known...
Study: It’s time to update hospital readmission risk assessment tools for SNFs
By
Kristen Fischer
Oct 26, 2023
A new study calls for updating the tools used to assess hospital readmission risk for skilled nursing facility (SNF) residents.
Care teams now at risk as MDS changes roll out
By
Kimberly Marselas
Sep 28, 2023
It’s been widely billed as the biggest change to the Minimum Data Set in more than a decade, and on Sunday, version 1.18.11 of the MDS 3.0 finally kicks in.