Ask the payment expert … about quality and reimbursement correlations
By
Patricia Boyer
Jun 01, 2013
How can the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services correlate quality of care and reimbursement?
You always need to remember that Medicare is an insurance plan. As such, Medicare has rules, just like...
CMS to update ‘worst’ nursing home list quarterly, list all names
Feb 13, 2008
All nursing homes on a federal watch list for poor performing facilities will now be publicized on a government Web site, Bush administration officials announced Tuesday.
Funding issues hit the spotlight as nursing home advocates gear up for Aging Committee hearing
Mar 03, 2009
The Senate Special Committee on Aging will convene tomorrow to discuss the inclusion of improvements to long-term care as part of overarching national healthcare reform.
Feds offer more support for workers’ background checks
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 01, 2013
A federal agency is again offering to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to employee background checks for long-term care providers. All direct-care employees could potentially be affected.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently finalized 2014 Medicare rate updates for hospices and inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and also laid out quality metrics. Hospices will receive...
Overdocumentation and cloning in electronic health records are overlooked risks, investigators say
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 09, 2014
Auditors reviewing Medicare and Medicaid claims from electronic health records are largely treating them in the same manner as paper claims, even though they pose unique risks for overbilling and fraud,...
ACOs saved Medicare more than $700 million in 2016
By
Oct 27, 2017
Accountable care organizations participating in Medicare’s Shared Savings and Pioneer models saved the program roughly $713 million last year — nearly double the amount of savings recorded in 2015.
Members of Congress ratchet up pressure on nursing homes
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 03, 2018
Four influential Republican Congressmen sent a letter to federal regulators Tuesday, requesting sweeping answers about the agency’s oversight of nursing homes.
Yarwood: Five-star rating system, card-check legislation loom large
Oct 07, 2008
While the nursing home industry can be proud of its accomplishments in Washington over the last year, many challenges await. These include card-check legislation in Congress and a problematic five-star...
CMS work group recommends approach for employing former criminals in long-term care settings
By
McKnight's Staff
Apr 19, 2013
Long-term care providers and states should agree on what a “direct access employee” is and whether that person has a criminal conviction that should keep him or her from working in a nursing...