Price increases, not a larger senior population, are responsible for exploding healthcare costs: analysts
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 13, 2013
Escalating healthcare costs in the United States cannot be pinned on an aging population demanding more services for chronic conditions. Instead, higher costs are primarily the result of price increases,...
Bipartisan bill proposes new provider networks to serve chronically ill seniors
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 16, 2014
Skilled nursing and rehabilitation providers would be able to join networks dedicated to treating chronically ill Medicare patients, under a new bipartisan bill introduced Wednesday in both houses of Congress....
Drug agency officially proposes to restrict access to hydrocodone medications
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 05, 2014
The federal government is on the verge of tightening access to Vicodin and similar types of painkillers by moving the drugs from Schedule III to Schedule II classification. Long-term care providers have...
With ICD-10 transition date firm and testing imminent, Medicare agency releases new provider resources
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 28, 2014
Long-term care providers can refer to newly released materials about looming ICD-10 testing and the overall transition to the new coding system, but they should not expect any delay in the Oct. 1 transition...
Huge West Virginia chemical spill hits long-term care facilities
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 13, 2014
Long-term care facilities in nine West Virginia counties were in emergency response mode Friday, after a huge chemical spill created a federally declared disaster and rendered tap water unusable.
House and Senate ACA-replacement bills propose universal long-term care coverage
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 11, 2013
Lawmakers in both houses of Congress have introduced a bill to institute a single-payer healthcare system that would include universal long-term care coverage.
‘2-midnight rule’ is increasing observation stays, not decreasing them as hoped, Johns Hopkins...
By
Tim Mullaney
May 23, 2014
A Medicare policy change meant to reduce the number of hospital observation stays actually is having the opposite effect, a senior Johns Hopkins Medical System executive told a Congressional panel this...
CDC to families: Press long-term care staff to get vaccinated for flu
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 17, 2013
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention singled out long-term care professionals in a recent influenza vaccination briefing, calling on them to be vaccinated and urging family members...
CMS updates coding instructions for hospice site of service, principal diagnosis
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 02, 2014
A new Medicare hospice manual update includes instructions for which principal diagnosis codes are acceptable, and clarifies which codes should be used for services in a skilled versus non-skilled nursing...
Moderate alcohol consumption staves off dementia in seniors
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 27, 2014
Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol might preserve cognition in people over the age of 60, according to recently published findings in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias.