OIG partly blames CMS for Life Care Centers deficiencies
By
Joe Bush
Sep 20, 2022
A federal watchdog said a lack of communication by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may have caused infection control deficiency citations at Life Care Centers of America nursing homes between...
CMS, OIG agree on increasing scrutiny of psychotropic drug use
By
Joe Bush
Nov 18, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be increasing its oversight of the use of psychotropic drugs to pay closer attention to certain classes, warned the lead author of a federal report identifying...
White House announces big nursing home COVID-19 vaccination push and providers push back
By
Joe Bush
Nov 23, 2022
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a six-week $475 million campaign to raise the COVID-19 vaccination rate among nursing home residents, and the sector’s leaders responded immediately with...
For-profit providers still on hot seat in final House COVID report
By
Joe Bush
Dec 12, 2022
Months after its first attack, a key House COVID subcommittee on Friday targeted five of the nation’s five largest for-profit nursing home companies over low staffing and wages and slow vaccine booster...
More flexible CMS vaccine mandate enforcement cheers providers
By
Joe Bush
Oct 28, 2022
Nursing home advocates Thursday cheered news that federal regulators are relaxing their instructions to surveyors when checking for staff compliance with a federal vaccine mandate.
Room for optimism, leader says, despite COVID-19 deaths, winter of uncertainty ahead
By
Joe Bush
Nov 29, 2022
Despite the rising proportion of COVID-19 deaths attributed to seniors and the uncertainty of what the winter months might bring, optimism found its way into Monday’s LeadingAge coronavirus update call.
APIC urges healthcare workers to continue masking despite CDC pullback
By
Joe Bush
Oct 04, 2022
A major association for infection prevention professionals is strongly urging its members to continue masking in patient care areas even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosened its...
Nursing home administrators’ commitment pushed them through fears of the sector’s collapse during...
By
Joe Bush
Dec 14, 2022
Nursing home administrators stressed about their industry’s sustainability due to the costs of responding to COVID-19, lost revenue, and the negative portrayal of nursing homes by the media, found a...
Providers warned: Ongoing relief fund audits may bring unprecedented info demands
By
Joe Bush
Nov 21, 2022
Provider Relief Fund audits have started in earnest, with the threat of federal investigators demanding more and different data than most skilled nursing providers have ever been asked to account for.
HRSA sends more PRF money, still reviewing Phase 4 applications
By
Joe Bush
Sep 14, 2022
The Health Resources and Services Administration disbursed $60 million in Phase 4 PRF funds to 293 providers, leaving approximately $1.6 billion still to be given out.