New insurance frontier may be opening to well-positioned providers
By
Kimberly Marselas
Nov 11, 2022
Analysts say an approaching regulatory transition presents a key opportunity for more skilled nursing providers to participate in and potentially offer special needs plans designed for dual-eligible individuals.
In fight over healthcare worker minimum wage, one voice is notably absent
By
Joe Bush
Nov 11, 2022
While several healthcare groups are fighting the state’s planned $15 an hour minimum wage for direct care workers in Medicaid-funded programs, the state’s largest nursing home association is not among...
Providers ‘on notice’ as CMS pressures states to shift Medicaid pay metrics
By
Kimberly Marselas
Nov 10, 2022
Providers still struggling to accurately capture diagnoses that drive federal reimbursement will be doubly left behind as more states start to use Patient Driven Payment Model-like systems to determine...
Skilled nursing hits pandemic occupancy high but stakeholders still must change, consultant asserts
By
Joe Bush
Nov 08, 2022
Nursing home occupancy continues to rise but rates are still below pre-pandemic levels, indicating it’s time for stakeholders to acknowledge there’s been irreversible change and time to diversify,...
Nearly half of states now using Medicaid to boost direct-care pay
By
Joe Bush
Nov 04, 2022
At least 19 states are actively implementing strategies to address direct care worker wages through reporting and/or enforcement mechanisms, a report issued this week by the National Governors Association...
Citing potential surge, nursing home leaders press for PHE extension
By
Joe Bush
Nov 03, 2022
The American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living on Wednesday appealed to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to support the extension of the Public Health Emergency...
State negotiates on penalties to avert nursing home closures
By
Joe Bush
Nov 03, 2022
A struggling nursing home that owes nearly $4 million in state fees will likely be able to remain open, thanks to Iowa’s reconsideration of a bankruptcy strategy.
Industry leader calls for PHE extension, more time to prepare for state Medicaid renewals
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 03, 2022
A January end to the PHE would result in a punishing wave of new Medicaid eligibility redeterminations that would hurt struggling LTC facility operators, says Mark Parkinson.
Hanging by a thread, providers must stitch up those Medicaid deals
By
Kimberly Marselas
Nov 02, 2022
The question in Texas and plenty of other states now becomes: Will there be enough momentum for long enough to push more Medicaid rates upward?
In-house hospice unit bucks long-standing SNF underuse
By
Joe Bush
Oct 27, 2022
While many nursing home patients who would qualify for hospice care never get it, a Pennsylvania provider is shoring up its efforts around end-of-life care with a new 16-bed hospice unit.