The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services needs to toughen up oversight of complaints about nursing homes, investigators say.
More changes ahead for the current ratings system: feds
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 06, 2015
Staffing and retention rates are expected to be added to the Nursing Home Compare website in 2016.
More scrutiny ahead for Five-Star ratings
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 05, 2015
In a move that top nursing home lobbyists privately hoped wouldn’t come to pass, the Government Accountability Office announced in late August it will be investigating the federal nursing home rating...
Ratings may factor in satisfaction results
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 01, 2009
Federal regulators are meeting with nursing home operators and other key stakeholders to discuss ways that resident and family satisfaction surveys might be factored into the new Five-Star rating system.
SNF need greater than thought
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 06, 2017
Americans have a higher probability of needing skilled nursing care than previously thought, according to new research.
Skilled sector fears massive doctor bill
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 01, 2015
Long-term care provider advocates kicked off a comprehensive lobbying campaign in January to encourage favorable reform to Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate formula for physicians.
Thanks for 1% Medicare raise
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 06, 2017
If they hadn’t known well in advance it would be that small, providers probably wouldn’t have been so gracious about a mere 1% increase in Medicare reimbursements from the Centers for Medicare...
Rate drops for antipsychotics
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 04, 2015
Industry leaders were pleasantly surprised to learn that nursing home operators had exceeded goals for lowering unnecessary antipsychotics use. The level dropped by nearly 20% over a three-year span.
Critics: Gaps in ‘Compare’ site
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 06, 2017
The federal website that informs consumers about specific nursing homes has “considerable” knowledge gaps, a pair of prominent Harvard University researchers asserted recently.
Nursing home population tumbles 20%
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 01, 2014
The number of Americans 65 or older residing in a nursing home fell from 1.6 million to 1.3 million during the decade ending in 2010, according to a new federal report.