CMS: Surveyors looking for education, not expertise, under COVID-19 vaccine rule that starts today
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 21, 2021
Nursing homes will not be expected to turn their staff members into vaccine experts under a new rule that requires all workers to be offered COVID-19 shots and to be educated about them, a federal official...
CMS chief holds second 1-on-1 with providers as reform looms
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 04, 2022
Leaders of several nonprofit skilled nursing providers warned Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure about the potential impact of “unfunded mandates” and “counterproductive”...
How QIOs, strike teams helped in COVID-19 trenches with majority of nursing homes
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 04, 2021
Federal strike teams and quality improvement contractors, acting in expanded roles, helped reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection by guiding interventions at more than half of all U.S. nursing homes, said...
Long-term care remains in the dark about infection preventionist requirements
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 13, 2021
The need for infection preventionists has never been greater, but 13 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, long-term care providers still remain in the dark as to who will fit the federal government’s final...
‘Sufficient’ will no longer be sufficient as CMS rewrites nursing home staffing rules
Apr 12, 2022
Moderator Kimberly Marselas leads this insightful conversation on practical considerations, providers’ wish-list items and legal concerns that come with such major reform.
Bring in religious leaders to increase nursing home accountability, experts urge CMS
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 14, 2022
A group of health quality experts is asking the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to give faith-based and other community organizations a formal role in individual nursing homes’ improvement efforts.
As skilled nursing ‘teeters,’ leaders look to DC for help on pay rule and more
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jun 02, 2022
More than 500 skilled nursing providers are expected to arrive in Washington, D.C., Monday ready to press federal lawmakers for solutions on staffing and revenue issues that threaten patient access across...
Risk-bearing execs: Operators need to ‘make some noise’ to make some money
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jun 10, 2021
Skilled nursing providers looking to take on risk for long-term viability need to start getting creative, warn two executives in the business of connecting payers and providers in value-based partnerships.
Latest federal mandate denial sets stage for possible Supreme Court appeal
By
Kimberly Marselas
Dec 15, 2021
The battle over a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers is primed for its Supreme Court debut, now that a federal appeals court has ruled a temporary injunction should remain in place.
CMS proposes 1.3% pay increase — with plenty of strings attached
By
Kimberly Marselas
Danielle Brown
Apr 09, 2021
A proposal that would boost Medicare payments to skilled nursing providers by 1.3% next fiscal year also could trigger additional reporting requirements and increase the potential for penalties.