Becerra orders CMS to rethink $22 Medicare Part B premium price hike tied to Aduhelm
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 11, 2022
With the 50% price drop of Aduhelm on January 1, there is good reason for CMS to reassess a hefty proposed premium hike for 2022, the U.S. health secretary said. On Wednesday, CMS is expected to announce...
Shot targeting omicron may be ready by March, Pfizer predicts
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 11, 2022
The company says it is working with partner BioNTech to develop a shot that will combine its original vaccine with a drug that helps build immunity to the highly transmissible omicron variant.
Study: ‘Cognitive frailty’ may be result of aging — not the brain changes found in dementia
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 11, 2022
Reduced cognitive function without substantial memory complaints may be a normal part of aging and not an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, investigators say.
The long-term view on long-term care: Only if you want to know
By
Irving Stackpole
Jan 10, 2022
No one with any depth of relevant experience would call long-term care in the United States a success. You might ask, “How would you define success?” A rational response would include both qualitative...
CMS going public with facility turnover, weekend staffing data
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 10, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services late Friday announced that it will begin posting nursing home staff turnover rates and weekend staffing levels on the consumer-facing Medicare Care Compare...
American Senior Communities’ Donna Kelsey: Recruiting partners and investing in the future
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 10, 2022
Investments in innovation and a willingness to forge new partnerships will help lift skilled nursing providers out of the COVID-era, predicts veteran nursing homes leader Donna Kelsey.
Rolling with the punches, long-term care style
By
James M. Berklan
Jan 06, 2022
It’s amazing how perspectives can change over time. Here we all think we know, and have known, what life with COVID has been like after all these months.
Pandemic highlights opportunity to improve gender equity in the workplace
By
Candace Wallace
Jan 06, 2022
One of the silver linings of the pandemic has been the attention it has brought to long-standing gender disparity in the workplace. That heightened awareness, however, came at a steep cost as pandemic...
Researchers call for family caregivers to be better incorporated into nursing home workforces
By
Danielle Brown
Jan 06, 2022
Providers, patients and policymakers should better incorporate informal caregivers into skilled nursing facilities to enhance professional caregivers’ capabilities and efficiencies, according to University...
Some believe Pfizer’s COVID pill can help address labor issues
By
Danielle Brown
Jan 06, 2022
Pfizer’s newly approved antiviral COVID-19 pill Paxlovid for treating the disease could be just what nursing homes need to address staffing shortages exacerbated by the public health crisis, according...