House votes to delay 2% Medicare sequestration cuts, but Senate battle and another 4% reduction loom
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 22, 2021
A bill to delay a 2% across-the-board cut to Medicare that would affect all of its providers passed the House of Representatives in a bipartisan vote Friday. But its future remains murky.
Congress takes first step toward dulling 2022 Medicare cuts
By
Kimberly Marselas
Dec 08, 2021
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include the results of a Tuesday night House vote. Congress reached a bipartisan deal on Tuesday to stave off some impending Medicare cuts, but it...
$1.96 billion nursing homes cut will force hard look at regulation, payment, experts say
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 12, 2018
The federal budget deal struck last week will squeeze nursing homes tighter than ever, advocates said as they began strategizing about how to stem the damage.
National operator builds SD presence
By
Kimberly Marselas
Oct 08, 2019
A real estate investment trust has sold three skilled nursing and assisted living communities in South Dakota to a national group that already has a strong presence in the state. The communities, previously...
Medicare expands pre-approval program for power wheelchairs
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jun 05, 2018
A Medicare demonstration that requires healthcare providers to request pre-approval before prescribing medical devices such as powered wheelchairs will get new life this fall.
New bedside AI tool reduces call response time
By
Kimberly Marselas
Nov 25, 2019
OrbitaASSIST is the latest voice-enabled, artificial intelligence-driven bedside virtual health assistant from Orbita. This market-proven solution offers an alternative or adjunct to traditional nurse...
Still no word on whether CMS will approve lifetime Medicaid limits
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 26, 2018
Lawmakers and reporters alike have been unable to pin down Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma on her agency’s view of states’ requests to impose lifetime coverage...
Nursing home residents can use consumer law to challenge provider medical records practices
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jul 31, 2019
A Massachusetts woman who received incomplete nursing home records for her mother nearly two months after requesting was justified in using a state consumer law to sue, a court ruled Wednesday.
EEOC sues nursing home that fired worker with anxiety
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 05, 2018
A Tennessee nursing home fired a laundry technician rather than accommodate her request for time off to cope with an anxiety disorder, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges in a new...
No sign language interpreter for two years? Deaf former resident can sue nursing home
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 30, 2018
A federal judge ruled last week that a former nursing home patient who is deaf can pursue a discrimination case against the facility where she lived for more than two years because staff refused to provide...