‘Imperative’ to finalize staffing rule this year, dozens of House members tell CMS
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 20, 2023
More than a quarter of the House of Representatives signed a letter last week urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to move forward with its plan to institute a nationwide staffing mandate...
Will clear and present danger reveal itself as state mandates increase?
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jul 11, 2023
Nursing home operators in New York and Pennsylvania are stepping into the abyss this month, with no easy way to see just how far they might fall before hitting bottom.
The staffing rule’s Swiss cheese factor
By
Kimberly Marselas
Sep 08, 2023
There’s a glaring hole in the proposed federal staffing mandate, and no, I’m not talking about that same blackhole that’s apparently sucked in 190,000 skilled nursing workers with no sign of spitting...
Expect another Five-Star freeze amid nursing home survey delays, experts warn
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 20, 2024
Staffing measures used to calculate nursing homes’ federal ratings will freeze in April, further complicating a system based on often outdated and constantly changing metrics, experts warned last week.
Providers call for broader antipsychotic exclusions to help reduce schizophrenia diagnoses
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 31, 2023
Providers and quality experts are questioning why the agency hasn’t done more to review its quality measure for antipsychotic drug use.
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...
BREAKING: CMS sets new vaccination targets for another 24 states
By
James M. Berklan
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 14, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Friday that providers in 24 states added to the federal vaccine mandate roster Thursday have until March 15 to become fully vaccinated.
Opponents of the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers are pursuing two fresh pathways to defeat it. Both challenges cite the pandemic’s current, less critical stage...
In ‘transition,’ CMS asks providers to weigh in on key rules
By
Kimberly Marselas
Oct 11, 2022
NASHVILLE, TN — Many providers renewed their concerns about staffing constraints, workforce retention and the survey process during a rare live forum with a top Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...
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...