CMS: No changes imminent to staffing formula for Five-Star rating
Mar 10, 2009
Federal health officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services say they are considering tweaking their new Five-Star nursing home ranking system, but altering the way staffing is graded will...
Long-term care hospitals treat fewer short-stay patients
Apr 15, 2008
Long-term care hospitals treated fewer short-stay patients from fiscal years 2003 to 2006 as a result of cuts in Medicare reimbursement, according to a memo from the Department of Health and Human Services...
Study: Hospital stays are shorter after hip surgeries, but readmission rates high
Apr 21, 2011
Medicare beneficiaries undergoing hip replacement surgeries can expect to remain in the hospital for less time but are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital or discharged to a rehabilitation facility...
Former nursing home operator sentenced to 20 years in prison for healthcare fraud
By
McKnight's Staff
Aug 14, 2012
A first: a former Georgia nursing home operator will spend 20 years in prison on charges of healthcare fraud and tax evasion under providing “worthless services,” federal officials said Monday.
RAC groups battle provider plea for short-stay payment relief
By
John Hall
Feb 19, 2015
Third-party firms that audit Medicare bills for payment issues are pushing back hard against a hospital association plea for more favorable short-stay reimbursements, adding to the ongoing unwelcome specter...
Sun Healthcare reports solid fourth-quarter, annual growth
Mar 05, 2010
Sun Healthcare on Wednesday reported “respectable” earnings growth of 7.7% for the fourth quarter of last year and 18.3% for 2009 overall. The nation’s sixth-largest skilled nursing provider...
Dual eligibles more likely to go from hospitals to lower quality nursing homes, referral process might...
By
Tim Mullaney
May 27, 2014
People eligible both for Medicare and Medicaid go to lower-quality nursing homes after being hospitalized at a rate higher than Medicare-only patients, according to researchers from Brown and Harvard universities.
Mixed bag for heart failure patients: less time in hospital but bigger risks at home
Jun 03, 2010
First the good news: Medicare beneficiaries are experiencing shorter hospital stays and lower rates of in-hospital deaths after suffering heart failure. Now the not-so-good news: Out-of-hospital deaths...
New CMS rule to eliminate section of MDS, revise RUGs
Aug 25, 2009
A controversial new rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid rule will recalibrate Medicare case mixes under the Resource Utilization Group (RUG) system. Specifically, it will eliminate a section...
Fix Medicare funding woes ‘forever’ by eliminating subsidy for wealthy, conservative says
By
McKnight's Staff
May 15, 2012
Wealthy seniors should pay more in Medicare premiums, according to a brief from the conservative Heritage Foundation.