Outcome assessment should be seen as a tool for change management and will likely become the new standard for assessing resident care under the Affordable Care Act.
The nursing home survey system is about to get a much closer look
By
John O'Connor
Aug 29, 2014
You had to know this was coming. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that many nursing homes are submitting massaged staffing and quality indicator data to the feds. The alleged reason? So facilities...
Providers may need more than a ‘wizard’ to demystify Obamacare
By
John O'Connor
Aug 12, 2013
Did you hear the one about life’s great lies? Here’s part of the punch line: “I’m from the government and I came to help you.” Providers familiar with the joke may have experienced...
The countdown is on for the ACA Employer Mandate
By
Carol Ballou
May 19, 2014
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is law. And, for employers with 100 or more full time equivalent employees (FTE), the employer mandate is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2015. With the deadline for...
Sometimes a carrot is really a stick … but sometimes it’s 24-karat gold!
By
Steven Littlehale
Nov 27, 2017
We all yearn for a time when value-based purchasing (and care) loses its originality. A time when motivations for providing excellent care and achieving excellent resident outcomes are aligned with reimbursement.
Medicaid hypocrisy 2.0, or the art of not giving credit where it’s due
By
John O'Connor
Feb 28, 2014
Hypocrisy, thy name is Republican governor taking more Medicaid funding.
Part Two: Have we not been through this before?
By
James Lomastro
Sep 19, 2013
Initially many thought that the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act will be a popular piece of legislation. However, while provisions were popular with providers and some seniors, many were not especially...
Why the Supreme Court will vote in favor of the Affordable Care Act
By
Elizabeth Newman
Apr 03, 2012
You may not like — nay, hate — the Affordable Care Act. The U.S. Supreme Court may agree with you. That doesn’t mean the justices will strike it down.
New ATRA cut to Medicare Part B Therapy Payments latest destabilizing blow to spector
By
Alan G. Rosenbloom
Feb 13, 2013
With $9 billion in Budget Relief Act sequester cuts to the U.S. skilled nursing facility (SNF) sector now just weeks away following the latest cut of at least $600 million in Medicare Part B therapy payments...