Government agency calls off effort to assess antipsychotic use in nursing homes, watchdog group reports
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 26, 2013
A government investigation into nursing homes’ antipsychotic prescribing practices will not move forward due to budget and staff cuts, according to nonprofit investigative news organization The Center...
Medicare appeals at the administrative law judge level will be suspended for two years due to backlog,...
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 17, 2014
Long-term care providers filing to have a Medicare claims appeal heard by an administrative law judge will not have the case assigned to a judge for at least two years, according to the Office of Medicare...
CMS final rule: SNFs to receive $30 million less in Medicare payments than initially proposed
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 02, 2013
A Medicare payment rate update will increase aggregate skilled nursing facility reimbursements by $470 million during fiscal year 2014, according to a final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
CMS clarifies 45-day deadline for additional documentation requests
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 19, 2014
Certain auditors that are doing prepayment reviews of Medicare claims must tell providers that they have 45 days to produce any additional documents requested (ADR), according to a recent Survey & Certification...
Congressman requests briefing on nursing home five-star rating system
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 28, 2014
A leader in Congress has called for an evaluation of the nursing home five-star rating system in light of a recent New York Times article. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) requested that Centers for Medicare...
Congress passes budget that would extend Medicare cuts, soften sequestration
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 19, 2013
A bipartisan budget deal is on the verge of becoming law, after being passed by the U.S. Senate in a 64-36 vote on Wednesday. Long-term care leaders called for passage of the two-year spending plan after...
Ryan, Murray strike budget deal that would extend Medicare sequestration cuts
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 11, 2013
Top House and Senate budget negotiators have carved out a deal that would end many parts of the across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, but long-term care providers would face an additional...
Provider groups respond to Congressional request with detailed recommendations on post-acute reforms
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 20, 2013
Major long-term care provider groups have offered detailed policy recommendations on reforms to the post-acute care delivery and payment systems, as requested by Congressional lawmakers. In addition to...
Providers could be slapped with monetary penalties for slow response to document requests under OIG proposal
By
Tim Mullaney
May 13, 2014
Long-term care providers are facing an expanded list of infractions that could trigger civil monetary penalties, including slow response to document requests. The proposed regulation from the Department...
CMS budget defines nursing home quality targets, requests an additional $50 million for surveys
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 12, 2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ proposed budget for fiscal year 2015 requests additional funds for survey activities and lists the agency’s targets for nursing home quality measures.