How is the new Quality Indicator Survey process going to affect facilities?
Healthcare officials eliminate nursing home assessment protocols
May 29, 2009
It’s a wrap on RAPs. Resident Assessment Protocols (RAPs) will be eliminated under a new assessment regimen in development, an official with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced...
Senators introduce transparency bill and GAO report revealing under-funded survey system
Mar 20, 2009
A new Government Accountability Office report shows that the survey and certification system lacks the funding necessary to keep pace with its oversight responsibilities. Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA)...
Nursing-home study: Inspection system ‘broken and can’t be fixed’
Aug 13, 2008
A leading nursing-home association is calling for an independent panel to come up with new methods for overseeing nursing facilities. The association’s task force issued 31 recommendations Tuesday,...
Tougher economy means greater likelihood of Medicaid cuts, Kaiser survey reveals
Oct 01, 2008
A new survey of state officials shows that increasing budget pressures could lead states to start clicking down their Medicaid programs. Most have resisted cuts thus far, but the odds of that continuing...
Opinion: the five-star nursing home rating system is bad policy, hastily implemented
Mar 01, 2009
A good idea does not necessarily good policy make. For proof, look no further than the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services’ recently unveiled Five-Star rating system for nursing homes.
Medicaid reform pilot to enhance choices confuses beneficiaries
Oct 17, 2008
A Florida pilot program designed to give Medicare beneficiaries more choice and control concerning their healthcare plans has led to more confusion than anything else, according to a recent review by the...
Nursing homes to be notified of initial ‘five-star’ ratings starting Monday
Dec 12, 2008
Nursing home operators on Monday will begin receiving advance notice of their first ratings in federal regulators’ new “five-star” system, officials said during a conference call Thursday.
GAO nursing home survey not accurate, Oklahoma officials say
May 20, 2008
Many in the nursing home field have been taken aback by the Government Accountability Office report released last week. Now one state, which ranks among the worst in the country in terms of nursing home...
Experts favor new payment system rewarding higher quality and more efficient care
Nov 04, 2008
A new survey of healthcare leaders finds that almost all feel the current healthcare payment system is fundamentally flawed and must be reformed. An overwhelming majority favor bonuses for high-quality...