A new bill introduced in Congress this week would help small businesses, including independent nursing homes and other healthcare providers, form health insurance cooperatives to provide their employees with affordable health insurance.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) this week touted a second possible stimulus package that would contain a temporary increase in Medicaid spending.

A bill authorizing more than $560 million in grants and loans to encourage the use of electronic health records passed through the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday.

The amount of financing placed in seniors housing dropped by a precipitous 60% in the first quarter of 2008, according to data released this month from the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing and Care Industry. That could lead to an easing up on new development.

Rather than wage a budgetary battle with a departing president, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said Thursday that the Democratically controlled Congress will likely wait "until Senator Obama becomes president" before passing any annual spending bills.

The Brookings Institute will hold a briefing on the future of long-term care reform Friday morning, and the guest list includes some heavy hitters from inside the Beltway.

Is sustained Medicaid funding an effective way to ensure the delivery of needed healthcare services to the poor, or a harmful drain on the U.S. Treasury?

Nursing home providers have intensified lobbying efforts against a proposed regulation that would reduce Medicare outlays to skilled nursing facilities by $770 million in fiscal year 2009.

The long-term care industry is still grappling with a House hearing criticizing nursing home quality and a report on problematic nursing home inspections that was released in conjunction with last Thursday's hearing.

Nursing homes that have adopted aspects of the culture change movement, or at least strive to, are more likely to see benefits in resident satisfaction, staff retention, higher occupancy rates and improved operational costs, according to a recently released survey of directors of nursing.