Keep your head up: Your pay rule comments are due by June 10!
By
Neville M. Bilimoria
Apr 25, 2022
Perhaps the proposed rule will allow providers to tell their story to CMS, and this time make the agency’s key personnel understand that a reimbursement cut right now is unreasonable.
Administration and CMS’s big fix
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Mar 15, 2022
I think a lot of us were a little ticked off with the State of the Union address and the administration’s focus on improving the quality of care provided in America’s nursing homes. We all know we...
Biden Medicare regulations favor hospitals over skilled nursing facilities
By
Lisa Grabert
Jun 02, 2021
On an annual basis, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updates various payment systems within the Traditional (fee-for-service) Medicare program. This regulatory season is more entertaining than...
Is the doctor in? Improve nursing homes with one easy stroke
By
Kenneth Lehmann
Apr 14, 2021
Many nursing home COVID-19 patients would have benefitted from daily, reimbursed-for physician visits in their skilled nursing facilities, but they were not entitled to them. With an epic crisis...
Political grandstanding hurting long-term care again
By
Brendan Williams
Jun 04, 2018
It is regrettable that 17 state attorneys general are grandstanding by demanding that federal officials impose stricter nursing home regulation and sanctions. Their letter shows no real understanding of...
Five-Star is anything but frozen
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 13, 2017
The day after Thanksgiving, CMS further defined its intensions with the Five-Star Quality Rating System; more specifically how the new survey process and derivative data will be used in its calculation...
Antibiotics in LTC: Changing from ‘Just in case’ to ‘Only when needed’
By
Philip D. Sloane, M.D., MPH and Sheryl Zimmerman, Ph.D.
Mar 01, 2017
Prior to the discovery of antibiotics, the most common cause of death was infection. There was no good treatment for pneumonia, complications of urine or ear infections were common, and many people died...
CMS sneaks a trick in with its treats
By
Steven Littlehale
Oct 21, 2015
With so many regulatory changes kicking in on Oct. 1, it’s no wonder providers were likely too distracted to notice the latest “trick” by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Defeat the plague of improper claims
By
Kristin Walter
Apr 17, 2015
For recovery auditing professionals everywhere, performance-based payments are a financial best practice and the industry standard. The client wins when no upfront expenses occur and payments are made...
Where were YOU when CMS changed the Five-Star rating system?
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 20, 2015
Some things will always stay etched in our mind. Where were you on February 12, when CMS publicly announced immediate changes to the Five Star Quality Rating System for Nursing Homes?