New CMS policies will lead to ‘big change’ in wound care practices, analyst says
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 22, 2013
New Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement practices within the next year will significantly change preferred treatment methods for wounds that are common in long-term care settings, according to a new market...
Cases subject to escrow
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 01, 2013
Federal regulators have expanded the use of escrow accounts so that as of this month, providers will be subject to their use for any kind of deficiency from a standard or complaint survey that draws a...
Berwick blasts three-night rule
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 01, 2013
Add former Medicare chief Donald Berwick to the growing list of critics of a federal rule requiring three consecutive nights’ stay as a hospital inpatient to qualify for Medicare nursing home coverage.
CMS: Medicare will not cover PET scans for Alzheimer’s
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 04, 2013
Seniors will not be able to receive Medicare coverage for imaging scans to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced.
Providers prep for NASL annual meeting
Sep 27, 2013
Operators, including many providers of ancillary services, are getting ready for the 24th annual meeting of the National Association for the Support of Long-Term Care. The event will take place Oct. 6-8...
House lawmakers call on CMS to delay rule limiting observation stays
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 26, 2013
More than 100 members of the House of Representatives have called on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to delay implementation of a new rule intended to limit the number of hospital patients...
Ready or not: The MDS is changing again!
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Sep 25, 2013
On Oct. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be updating the Minimum Data Set with another round of changes. Most are minor but there will be two changes to the therapy section. Your case-mix...
A group of nursing home operators has won a moral victory over the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, with a federal appeals court saying the agency made Medicaid reimbursement cuts without considering...
When two midnights doesn’t equal three days
By
Carol Levine
Sep 23, 2013
Hospital observation stays have been increasing, as have Medicare auditors’ denial of claims related to short inpatient stays on the basis that they should have been counted as observation stays....
Medical directors raise concerns about quality reporting, health IT in long-term care settings
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 13, 2013
Since the adoption of health information technology has varied between acute and long-term care settings, that fact should be reflected in quality reporting requirements for physicians, a prominent association...