In case you missed it, there’s a new Medicare audit process coming
By
Aug 22, 2017
it’s understandable if a story we ran last — about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services revamping its Medicare audit process — slipped under your radar. Here’s what you need to...
Top 5 news stories reveal varied interests among long-term care professionals
By
John O'Connor
Jan 03, 2014
What do neck abnormalities, dangerous bacteria, a murder-suicide, a defensive nursing home chain, and antipsychotic guidelines have in common? These five developments were voted the most popular news stories...
CMS award winners showcase partnerships
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jun 19, 2012
Grasping, as many of us do, to find a positive healthcare story that includes the long-term care sector, it was nice to see that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Innovation Awards made...
Looking to open eyes about ‘observations’
By
James M. Berklan
May 01, 2013
Bully for provider groups pulling out the stops to draw attention to the ludicrous mishandling of “observation stay” designations by many hospitals. One prong of the plan is to have providers...
Latest therapy-billing showdown could be ominous sign for long-term care providers
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 10, 2014
Don’t let anyone tell you that long-term care operators don’t know how to read between the lines. They might not have known to fear a McKnight’s Monday news item before it broke, but...
Why nursing homes can exhale — but not get complacent
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 07, 2017
The announced delay of full enforcement of new survey requirements is indeed good news for nursing home operators and all of their compliance officers. Their blood pressure should now lower a few millimeters....
Providers grapple with CMS ‘rule’
By
James M. Berklan
May 03, 2011
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has a lot of long-term care providers shaking their heads. They’re not sure they heard one of CMS’s latest proposed rules right.
Is it the docs’ turn to get stoned?
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 25, 2018
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services brought out its equivalent of a brass band and confetti machine Tuesday to tout a new provider payment strategy. One could almost hear strains of “Happy...
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...
It’s not just you: Everything’s hard about Phase 2 Requirements of Participation
By
James M. Berklan
May 23, 2018
An interesting phenomena occurred Tuesday when we asked providers for the toughest part of complying with Phase 2 provisions of the Requirements of Participation.