Despite the nursing home industry’s ongoing insistence that location/zip code is the primary factor determining whether residents infected with coronavirus,[1] evidence mounts that higher nurse staffing levels are correlated with fewer COVID-19 cases … [Read more...] about Nursing Home Residents and COVID-19: Staffing and Quality of Care Matter
Skilled Nursing Facility
Center for Medicare Advocacy Senior Policy Attorney, Toby Edelman and Health and Aging Policy Fellow, Cinnamon St. John Featured On This Is Getting Old Podcast
Nine months after the CDC confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the United States, the nation is leading the world in COVID-related deaths and confirmed cases. Nowhere has the toll of the coronavirus been felt more than in our nation’s nursing … [Read more...] about Center for Medicare Advocacy Senior Policy Attorney, Toby Edelman and Health and Aging Policy Fellow, Cinnamon St. John Featured On This Is Getting Old Podcast
HHS Continues Giving Provider Relief Funds to Nursing Facilities
After giving billions of dollars to nursing facilities from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) “without strings,”[1] and allowing facilities to spend the funds “without limitations,”[2] the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has now announced … [Read more...] about HHS Continues Giving Provider Relief Funds to Nursing Facilities
Infection Control Surveys In Nursing Facilities: As Deaths Soar, CMS Reports Few Deficiencies, Primarily “No Harm”
In March 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) suspended the regular survey process and announced that it would conduct limited surveys that focused on infection prevention and control issues.[1] Since June, CMS has made … [Read more...] about Infection Control Surveys In Nursing Facilities: As Deaths Soar, CMS Reports Few Deficiencies, Primarily “No Harm”
Nursing Facilities and COVID: Staffing Matters
Countering industry claims that COVID infection rates in nursing facilities are largely a matter of geography, Bloomberg Law reports that five nursing facilities within 25 miles of the Nashville city center, operated by the New Jersey-based CareRite … [Read more...] about Nursing Facilities and COVID: Staffing Matters
Members of Congress Write CMS Urging Restoration of Nurse Aide Training Requirements for Nursing Facilities
In an October 30, 2020 letter, Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D, TX) and colleagues asked Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to promptly reinstate nurse aide training requirements that have been … [Read more...] about Members of Congress Write CMS Urging Restoration of Nurse Aide Training Requirements for Nursing Facilities
Infection Control Surveys At Nursing Facilities
More than two months ago, on August 14, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that it had cited more than 180 “immediate jeopardy” level deficiencies for infection prevention and control at nursing facilities, triple … [Read more...] about Infection Control Surveys At Nursing Facilities
Provider Relief Funds: Care for Patients or Boosting Provider Revenues?
Despite nursing facilities’ reporting severe shortages of nursing staff and personal protective equipment,[1] the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has revised federal policy to allow health care providers, including nursing facilities, … [Read more...] about Provider Relief Funds: Care for Patients or Boosting Provider Revenues?
Long-Term Care Policy: Trump vs. Biden
The Center for Medicare Advocacy offers the following comparison of the presidential campaigns’ long-term care policies. For the Biden campaign, the Center looks at the Democratic Party’s 2020 platform,[1] the official campaign website,[2] … [Read more...] about Long-Term Care Policy: Trump vs. Biden
Paying Direct Care Workers a Living Wage
Recognizing that the coronavirus pandemic “brings into sharp focus the risks to people’s health that follow from low pay for direct care professionals,” LeadingAge, the trade association of not-for-profit health and social services providers, has … [Read more...] about Paying Direct Care Workers a Living Wage