Eleventh hour spending bill includes $117 billion for HHS … Insulin cost caps didn’t increase access: study … Bill introduces efficiencies in long-term care surveyor site visits
Federal report questions efficiency of required nursing hours in infection control
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Jan 20, 2023
A new federal report calls into question whether Medicare’s required hours for registered and licensed practical nurses are adequate in helping protect nursing home residents from infections.
Healthcare worker safety gets new emphasis from federal agencies
By
Joe Bush
Dec 13, 2022
Two federal agencies re-emphasized their commitment to nursing home and other healthcare worker safety with actions in the past week, one of which included a request for permanent COVID standards.
Opponents of the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers are pursuing two fresh pathways to defeat it. Both challenges cite the pandemic’s current, less critical stage...
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...
Arbitration battles loom after Supreme Court inaction, tough new guidance
By
Kimberly Marselas
Oct 05, 2022
The US Supreme Court this week refused to hear arguments that nursing homes should be able to require pre-dispute arbitration agreements, clearing the way for enforcement of stiff new arbitration rules...
Top US health official takes more heat over nursing home staffing standards
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 22, 2024
For the second time in a week, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra faced a grilling on Capitol Hill over federal regulators’ plans to impose a nurse staffing minimum on all US nursing...
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.
States push CMS to repeal COVID-19 vaccine mandate
By
Kimberly Marselas
Lois A. Bowers
Nov 18, 2022
A coalition of 22 states is taking a new angle in its attempts to overturn a national mandate requiring that healthcare workers be vaccinated against COVID-19: They’re simply asking federal regulators...
Are nursing homes headed for an 80% direct-spend rule?
By
Kimberly Marselas
Dec 11, 2023
A national union on Friday skewed comments made by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to imply federal regulators had proposed an 80% direct care spending requirement for the nursing home...