CMS considering different reimbursement strategies for COVID-19 tests
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 17, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could change the way it pays for COVID-19 tests, a top federal health official suggested this week. The move would come just months after the agency doubled...
BREAKING: Nursing home commission makes 27 recommendations, calls for ‘greater leadership role’...
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 16, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released recommendations from the Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes on Wednesday and, as expected, they contain a laundry list of...
CMS draft measure takes aim at HAIs acquired at skilled nursing facilities
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 16, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is seeking public input on a draft quality measure that would estimate the rate of healthcare-associated infections acquired during care at a skilled nursing...
A win for long-term care: Providers applaud withdrawal of MFAR proposal
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 15, 2020
Providers cheered federal health officials’ decision to withdraw a proposal they warned could cut up to $50 billion nationwide from the Medicaid program annually.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has withdrawn a much-criticized Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule that could have caused havoc for skilled nursing providers, in at least 11 states in particular....
‘Heartbreaking’: All contact with nursing home residents fell by more than half, study shows
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 14, 2020
Nursing home operators took limiting in-person contact with residents very seriously after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Visits of all kinds fell by 53% between March and April, new findings by...
Verma praises Florida’s reopening plan for nursing homes as possible model for entire country
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 11, 2020
Florida could serve as a template for the federal government’s national strategy for reopening nursing homes, believes Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma.
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stressed the need for repeated testing among staff members to stop the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
Feds ramp up COVID-19 testing efforts at nursing homes with release of 750k more POC supplies
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 09, 2020
Nursing homes in areas with the high COVID-19 positivity rates will be receiving another point-of-care testing option from the federal government starting next week.
CMS releases county COVID data for staff testing requirements
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 08, 2020
Providers can now check how often they’ll be required to test staff members for COVID-19 after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released county coronavirus data last week.