Former top Medicare official scalds long-term care leaders
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 26, 2012
Tom Scully wondered privately before his keynote address at a seniors housing and care conference last week why he was being asked to speak. Afterwards, long-term care executives in the audience were probably...
The lessons of Fuaja Singh
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Apr 09, 2013
Fuaja Singh completed his last marathon in Hong Kong only a few weeks before he turned 102 years old recently. He said he feels it might be time to retire from running marathons, but he plans to continue...
Fiscal molehill for rehab providers
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Jan 02, 2013
Well, we didn’t completely go off the “fiscal cliff,” but we’re definitely heading for a downward slope.
CMS did more than ‘just’ cut Medicare pay by 11.1%
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Aug 19, 2011
Have you started your COT trending analysis? On Aug. 8, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the final ruling and commentary for the new implementation of the MDS changes set to take effect...
Out with the drab: Time to add personality to healthcare equipment
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
May 07, 2012
A few years ago, I broke my leg. Ouch! I was stuck in a long-leg cast for 14 weeks. Luckily, no surgery was required. It was around the holidays, so I asked to have my cast done in red and green stripes.
Another revenue stream threatened?
By
John O'Connor
Dec 05, 2014
For just about every skilled nursing facility out there, this is probably a good time to break out the flop sweat. That is, unless the prospect of being culled from one of your most vital revenue streams...
Providers suffering Medicare appeals backlog — at their own hand?
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 29, 2015
If providers were charged a fee for challenging Recovery Audit Contractor findings, there wouldn’t be the current overwhelming backlog of Medicare appeals, says the administration — and, surprise,...
Unsettled business
By
James M. Berklan
Sep 20, 2011
The opening of the American Health Care Association’s annual meeting took on a familiar air Monday afternoon in Las Vegas: A lot of proud retrospectives of a year gone by, prerequisite hand-wringing...
Open up and say ‘Aha’
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 01, 2010
OK, raise your hand if you were surprised to learn that physicians averted a major Medicare pay cut that was supposed to take place this week. Didn’t think so. I wasn’t either.
Sorry, that’s not the full recipe for fixing nursing homes
By
John O'Connor
Jun 04, 2012
The Atlantic’s recent article called ‘How to Fix Nursing Homes’ is a well-written and thoughtful piece. My only gripe is that the headline is a bit of a reach.