Lawmaker, providers strike back after HHS leader promotes nursing home minimum staffing mandate
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 30, 2023
A Congresswoman and two major US nursing home associations hit back Wednesday, the day after Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra defended the administration’s plan to impose first-ever...
Doubling rapid COVID testing would have saved thousands of nursing home lives: study
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 23, 2023
Thousands of lives could have been saved at relatively very little cost, if nursing home operators had made wider use of rapid COVID-19 tests during the pre-vaccine days of the pandemic, a study published...
With MedPAC, it pays to keep reading
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 16, 2023
You may never find a wonkier set of people than the folks with the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
White House applies fresh squeeze on SNFs
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 12, 2023
For the second time, President Joe Biden announced during a State of the Union that his administration would be tightening its grip on nursing homes.
“We’re protecting seniors’ life savings by cracking...
Looking past 3 years of pandemic conditions
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 09, 2023
For Americans of a certain age, “Where were you on March 11, 2020?” might not rank quite the same as “Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001?” But the stunning aftermath of the former could easily eclipse...
Tough news — and providers should have it no other way
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 23, 2023
Above all, I crave candor. That’s what made one particular exchange during the McKnight’s executive Power Panel discussion I moderated Wednesday make me bolt upright in my chair.
And the Oscar goes to … not this cockeyed production
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 16, 2023
I recently woke up in a fog to the middle of some movie where innocent villagers were being accused by the sheriff of crimes they were certain they hadn’t committed.
A new kind of power play for a regional player: Guardian Healthcare’s Michael Herald
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 13, 2023
In a variation on the idea that you have to give up power to gain strength, regional skilled care provider Guardian Healthcare is actively working to decentralize its operations.
Biden again touts ‘cracking down’ on nursing homes in State of Union address
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 08, 2023
Nursing homes once again elicited an ignominious mention in President Joe Biden’s second SOTU address Tuesday night.
Skilled nursing angst, grit emerge after PHE end date announced
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 01, 2023
Nursing home leaders were scrambling to understand the full implications of the newly announced end to the public health emergency while also making plans to fight the return of some less flexible conditions.