New Issue Brief: Medicare Payment vs. Coverage for Home Health & Skilled Nursing Facility CareThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) — the federal agency responsible for administering the Medicare program — has begun … [Read more...] about Issue Brief: Medicare Payment vs. Coverage for Home Health & Skilled Nursing Facility Care
Skilled Nursing Facility
Lawmakers Must Be Cautious about Recommendations from a New Industry Report on Nursing Home Closures
Joint Statement from the Long Term Care Community Coalition and the Center for Medicare Advocacy Feb. 28, 2020 - LeadingAge, a trade association for non-profit nursing homes, has released a report on nursing home closures and trends between June … [Read more...] about Lawmakers Must Be Cautious about Recommendations from a New Industry Report on Nursing Home Closures
Massachusetts Task Force Calls for Closure of Low-Performing, Low Occupancy Nursing Facilities
The nursing home industry instinctively responds to the closures of nursing facilities by claiming that Medicaid rates are too low and must be increased.[1] A legislatively-mandated Massachusetts task force on nursing facilities has a different … [Read more...] about Massachusetts Task Force Calls for Closure of Low-Performing, Low Occupancy Nursing Facilities
Changes Coming to CMS Websites for Consumers
A recent blogpost by Administrator Seema Verma of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announces CMS’s plan to “combine and standardize” the eight Compare websites into a Medicare Compare website.[1] At the same time, an … [Read more...] about Changes Coming to CMS Websites for Consumers
Study Finds Nursing Home Compare Data about Patient Falls with Major Injuries Underreported and “Highly Inaccurate”
In the first “national-level assessment of how nursing homes self-report major injury fall rates, which are used by CMS for quality measurement and public reporting,” researchers “found substantial underreporting on the specific Minimum Data Set … [Read more...] about Study Finds Nursing Home Compare Data about Patient Falls with Major Injuries Underreported and “Highly Inaccurate”
Medicare SNF Payment Model Creates Changes in Care and Admissions – What about Facility Assessments?
The new Medicare reimbursement system for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) – the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) – fundamentally changes the financial incentives for facilities. With PDPM, Medicare now pays lower rates for residents needing … [Read more...] about Medicare SNF Payment Model Creates Changes in Care and Admissions – What about Facility Assessments?
Accountable Care Organizations and Observation Status
One of the ongoing problems that Medicare beneficiaries face is so-called “outpatient” hospital observation status. When a hospital classifies a patient as an outpatient, rather than as an inpatient, the result is that the patient is ineligible for … [Read more...] about Accountable Care Organizations and Observation Status
Nursing Facilities and Medicare Advantage: If You Can’t Beat ’Em, Join ’Em . . . But What About the Medicare Beneficiaries?
Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) do not like the prior authorization requirements, limited lengths of stay for residents, and lower Medicare reimbursement rates that are associated with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Some SNFs are responding to … [Read more...] about Nursing Facilities and Medicare Advantage: If You Can’t Beat ’Em, Join ’Em . . . But What About the Medicare Beneficiaries?
Protect Nursing Home Nurse Aide Training Requirements; Protect Residents’ Right to High Quality Care
Protect Nursing Home Nurse Aide Training Requirements; Protect Residents’ Right to High Quality Care January 6, 2020 - Certified nurse aides provide most of the direct hands-on care to the nation’s 1.3 million nursing home residents. Aides’ central … [Read more...] about Protect Nursing Home Nurse Aide Training Requirements; Protect Residents’ Right to High Quality Care
Skilled Nursing Facilities Lay off Therapists, Change Therapy Services – What Can Residents & Therapists Do?
On October 1, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented a new Medicare reimbursement system for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) called the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM).[1] The prior system, called Resource … [Read more...] about Skilled Nursing Facilities Lay off Therapists, Change Therapy Services – What Can Residents & Therapists Do?