New CMS guidance dictates nursing homes must report COVID-19 cases to CDC, residents and families
By
Liza Berger
Apr 20, 2020
In new but anticipated guidance released Sunday night, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is requiring nursing homes to report any COVID-19 cases directly to the Centers for Disease Control and...
Providers praise move by CMS to suspend standard surveys for nursing homes for 3 weeks; inspection finds...
By
Liza Berger
Danielle Brown
Mar 24, 2020
Long-term care providers on Monday said they appreciate a decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to limit surveys of nursing homes and other providers for a three-week period in the wake...
Desperate for testing, PPE, providers asked to report all COVID cases to authorities
By
Liza Berger
Apr 13, 2020
In an effort to secure needed testing and personal protective equipment (PPE), both major long-term care associations are urging providers to report all COVID-19-positive cases to state survey agencies...
Republican version of stimulus bill likely to include liability reform
By
Liza Berger
Jul 26, 2020
Although the Republicans’ version of the latest stimulus bill is still in the works, it likely will include liability reform measures and an extension of telehealth reimbursement policies.
COVID-19 pushes skilled nursing occupancy down 10%, analysis finds
By
Liza Berger
Jun 08, 2020
The nursing home population has fallen by 100,000 residents, or 10%, since the end of 2019, according to a Wall Street Journal news report. The main cause cited was complications related to the COVID-19...
‘Cash crunch’ ahead: Volume of hospital discharges to SNFs unlikely to rebound ‘any time soon,’...
By
Liza Berger
Oct 08, 2020
The volume of hospital discharges to skilled nursing facilities is not likely to return to anything like pre-pandemic levels in the near future, said Fred Bentley, managing director of Avalere, a healthcare...
Many poorer performers pursuing COVID-19 patients as states dangle incentives, report says
By
Liza Berger
Jun 08, 2020
States are creating a “perverse financial incentive” to push poor-performing nursing homes to take care of COVID-19-positive patients, Politico claims in a report. California, Massachusetts, Michigan...
Nursing home lessons from COVID-19: From family webinars to Zoom staff meetings
By
Liza Berger
Jul 07, 2020
There is an expression used in economics: Never waste a crisis. It’s a concept that has a particular meaning for nursing home operators as a result of COVID-19.
How to solve the COVID-19 crisis in long-term care? Reform the system for one, AMDA advises
By
Liza Berger
Jul 20, 2020
To improve the coronavirus problem in nursing homes, federal policy must be proactive, not reactive, and supportive, not punitive. So say managing physicians in nursing facilities. In “Solving...
Verma: Feds to prioritize nursing homes with three or more COVID-19 cases for point-of-care tests
By
Liza Berger
Danielle Brown
Jul 15, 2020
The federal government will prioritize nursing homes with three or more coronavirus cases during the initial distribution of point-of-care COVID-19 tests.