Watching the GOP try to force through its latest healthcare reform plan, which would once again hit Medicaid hard, I was reminded of something my mother used to jokingly say: “It’s like deja...
Bill to repeal Medicare payment panel reintroduced in Congress
By
John Hall
Mar 05, 2015
Opposition to a proposed independent payment advisory board (IPAB) continued to swell this week following re-introduction of a bill in Congress to repeal a portion of the Affordable Care Act that houses...
NAACP: Medicaid expansion would negate lost subsidies in NC
By
John Hall
Mar 04, 2015
The NAACP is pushing hard for lawmakers to approve Medicaid expansion efforts in North Carolina to give half a million state residents an alternative should they lose private insurance subsidized by the...
White House defends MedPAC ‘replacement’ panel in Supreme Court brief
By
John Hall
Feb 26, 2015
The federal government this week argued to the Supreme Court that a lower court was correct when it dismissed challenges to a payment review provision in the Affordable Care Act. Long-term care providers...
Medicaid expansion plans fade in several states
By
John Hall
Feb 25, 2015
Several so-called “red states” are leaning toward or have outright abandoned plans to allow expansion of their Medicaid programs, bucking a nationwide groundswell of program enrollment under...
Not time to pull the plug on hospital readmissions program … yet
By
James M. Berklan
Jan 21, 2015
It’s hard to sit on one’s hands when caregiving issues are in play. Yet, that’s exactly what I’d recommend with regard to at least one initiative aimed at lowering hospital readmissions.
A workweek tweak that’s worth the fight
By
John O'Connor
Jan 09, 2015
The new Congress hadn’t even officially started and already a major fight over stipulations for a new work-week threshold was heating up. Obamacare doesn’t have the answer this time.
Stars aligned for shift
By
John O'Connor
Oct 01, 2014
The Five Star rating system is about to get retooled, thanks to a scathing report in The New York Times. The only real question is how extensive the changes will be.
Why the survey system may never be fixed
By
John O'Connor
Sep 05, 2014
Given certain realities about skilled-nursing facility inspections, we should not be wondering why cheating has occurred. Rather, we should be amazed it hasn’t been more rampant.
Readmission penalty categories inspire more analysis and opportunity