We always seem to be training our staff in how to complete the MDS. Will they ever learn everything they need to about that process?
Not much to be thankful for?
By
John O'Connor
Nov 19, 2023
It’s easy to take what we have here for granted. This is a land of unmatched freedom and opportunity. Not that it’s always crimson and clover. For example, consider what skilled care providers are...
Froyo funding for long-term care
By
Gary Tetz
Sep 11, 2014
I have been blessed with an astute business mind, and am always on the lookout for new pricing models for long-term care. I know we’re in this profession for love, not money. But no margin, no mission,...
The Hiker’s Guide to the Long-term Care Galaxy
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 27, 2017
Much of what I know about success (or failure) in life, love and long-term care has been reinforced by lessons learned over years of hiking. As a result, I now take it as a point of professional pride...
Medical necessity — slippery for some
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Dec 02, 2011
Medical necessity has become a common phrase in healthcare terminology, but what exactly does it mean? Unfortunately, this term has become very subjective and is the primary reason we have been denied...
Medicare audits ‘ramping up’ with isolation coding in the crosshairs
By
Josh Henreckson
Apr 22, 2024
Auditors are paying special attention to isolation and quarantine coding amid already heightened Medicare nursing home audits that are expected to increase in coming months, experts warn.
Ask the payment expert
By
Patricia Boyer
May 01, 2008
I understand that many facilities are being cited during state surveys for not following standards of clinical practice. That citation is frequently cross-referenced to the assessment process. What can...
Equal pay for equal work? Has MedPAC lost its mind?
By
John O'Connor
Mar 07, 2016
If you are a post-acute provider, the big health news last week was not Donald Trump unveiling his post-Obamacare blueprint. It was the fact that MedPAC is getting closer to a rather brazen new approach...
Your money’s no good here
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 01, 2017
I’d say the thing we write about most often in this line of work is payment issues. As a long-term care provider, you are eternally under pressure with whether there will be enough to pay for everything.
Stagnant Medicaid rates aren’t just putting operators faced with outsized staffing costs into the red; in some places, they may be limiting access to the very capital providers need to sustain daily...