Congress passes budget that would extend Medicare cuts, soften sequestration
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 19, 2013
A bipartisan budget deal is on the verge of becoming law, after being passed by the U.S. Senate in a 64-36 vote on Wednesday. Long-term care leaders called for passage of the two-year spending plan after...
Long-term care leaders support passage of budget deal
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 12, 2013
Prominent long-term care provider associations registered support for a bipartisan budget deal being considered by Congress this week, despite the fact that it would extend a period of reduced Medicare...
Ryan, Murray strike budget deal that would extend Medicare sequestration cuts
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 11, 2013
Top House and Senate budget negotiators have carved out a deal that would end many parts of the across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, but long-term care providers would face an additional...
Federal government joins upcoding case against hospitalist company operating in LTC facilities
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 10, 2013
The federal government has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that a large hospitalist company systematically overbilled government health programs, the U.S. Department of Justice announced...
Review targets stolen money
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 01, 2013
Leaders in the U.S. Senate have called for a government review of how nursing homes handle facility-managed trust funds.
Nursing home trust-fund crimes aided by lack of oversight: report
By
Dave Surico
Dec 03, 2013
Theft or poor management from trust funds of nursing home patients is aided by a lack of regulations, according to a new USA TODAY report.
CMS fails to measure outcomes of the zone program integrity contractor program: government report
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 26, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is not thoroughly assessing how well zone program integrity contractors are contributing to Medicare anti-fraud efforts, according to a new report from the...
Caregivers should prepare for some residents to ‘get worse’ during antipsychotic drawdown,...
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 26, 2013
Leaders in long-term care facilities should take steps to ensure that residents with dementia are not unnecessarily put back on antipsychotic medications, according to officials who spoke on a call with...
CMS allows less-severe citations for nursing homes installing a sprinkler system
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 19, 2013
Nursing homes might be able to reduce the scope and severity of deficiency citations related to sprinkler systems, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced.
Hospice to pay $3 million to settle Medicare fraud whistleblower case
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 07, 2013
A Florida-based hospice provider has agreed to pay $3 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging false Medicare claims, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.