CMS: No changes imminent to staffing formula for Five-Star rating
Mar 10, 2009
Federal health officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services say they are considering tweaking their new Five-Star nursing home ranking system, but altering the way staffing is graded will...
Regulators delaying new MDS 3.0 nursing home payment system to ‘minimize confusion’
Mar 06, 2009
Federal healthcare regulators on Thursday announced a sweeping round of delays for an updated tool to enhance the nursing home payment system. The rollout of MDS 3.0 is now targeted for October 2010 and...
CMS to delay MDS 3.0 because of worries over system updates
Mar 05, 2009
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is planning to delay the implementation of Minimum Data Set 3.0 for one year because of concerns that there is not enough time to adequately prepare systems...
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.
Sebelius gets HHS nod, DeParle tabbed to become health czar
Mar 03, 2009
President Obama officially nominated Kathleen Sebelius, the democratic governor of Kansas, for the job of Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on Monday. Sebelius had been considered...
Nursing homes find mixed bag in Obama’s proposed budget
Mar 02, 2009
Nursing home operators are praising President Obama’s proposed 2010 budget for provisions that would help educate and train nurses. But they fear that other parts, including those that call for “bundling”...
CMS delays competitive bidding rule
Feb 24, 2009
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has delayed until April a competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment providers.
McKnight’s Online Expo to offer continuing education credits
Feb 24, 2009
The American Health Care Association and the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care Monday reiterated the importance of reforming the long-term care payment system. McKnight’s’ readers can...
Senior care groups want nursing home funding protected in Obama’s first budget
Feb 23, 2009
President Barack Obama is set to unveil his 2010 budget proposal Thursday, causing anxious senior care groups to issue a call for Medicare funding protection.
Report suggests shifting nursing home care to Medicare program
Feb 16, 2009
Consolidating certain aspects of financing care for some of the poorest older and disabled Americans at the federal level could soften the blow significantly to state budgets, a new analysis shows. Shifting...