June 17, 2009
President Obama this week publicly ruled out capping malpractice lawsuit awards as an approach to medical liability reform. His track record on the issue indicates he may be more open to ideas such as "apology legislation," or focusing on the reduction of preventable medical errors, according to one news outlet.
June 10, 2009
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) on Tuesday released a massive healthcare reform bill that includes long-awaited provisions for long-term care services and supports.
June 09, 2009
Despite concerns that potential healthcare reform legislation will exclude a long-term care piece, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging is keeping the pressure on lawmakers to consider providers' needs.
Something was missing Thursday when providers stormed Capitol Hill: A flag bearer for long-term care reform.
June 05, 2009
Hundreds of nursing home owners and operators blitzed congressional buildings in Washington on Thursday, pressing lawmakers for better Medicare payments, a halt to post-acute payment bundling system talk and other improvements. But one thing they weren't expecting to make much progress on was long-term care reform.
May 22, 2009
Most Americans believe that long-term care services and supports should be a part of any upcoming healthcare reform, according to the results of a new survey from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.
April 16, 2009
A draft report released from a House committee minority Wednesday finds that eight states likely are diverting Medicaid stimulus funding away from healthcare providers, such as nursing homes. Instead, they may be using it to fill budget holes.
Providers heaped praise on the Senate Finance Committee for its hearing Wednesday addressing the role of long-term care reform in general healthcare reform.
March 18, 2009
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recommended to Congress Tuesday that skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities not receive a reimbursement rate increase for fiscal year 2010. The recommendation angered nursing home providers.
Rebecca Ferrini, the full-time medical director at Edgemoor Hospital in Santee, CA, was honored Friday as the 2009 Medical Director of the Year by the profession's main association.
The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living have voiced opposition to the recently reintroduced Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act. Members of both the House and Senate have submitted the legislation for congressional consideration.
February 20, 2009
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D), who has emerged as the front-runner as nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has earned the support of a nursing home association in her state.
February 18, 2009
The ball is back in the U.S. Senate's court on the issue of financing a system to help find missing seniors. The House last week passed the National Silver Alert Act (H.R. 632), which would establish an infrastructure for alerting both law enforcement and the public when a senior goes missing.
February 05, 2009
As the Senate works to amend the economic stimulus bill, President Obama has indicated that he will go only so far in compromising with Republican critics of the legislation.
January 23, 2009
Expanding its labor pool and accessing capital to fund construction projects are two ways the long-term care field can stimulate U.S. economic recovery, the American Health Care Association and the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care said Thursday.
November 11, 2008
The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, both long-term care groups, praised President-elect Barack Obama Monday for promoting an economic-stimulus package that includes needed Medicaid funds for states.
Two new spectacles garnered special attention this week at the annual conference of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging in Philadelphia: The Chef Challenge and the Last Designer Standing competitions.
October 07, 2008
While the nursing home industry can be proud of its accomplishments in Washington over the last year, many challenges await. These include card-check legislation in Congress and a problematic five-star rating system, Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association, said Monday at the 59th Annual Convention & Expo's Opening General Session in Nashville.
September 23, 2008
The American Health Care Association Monday called upon members of Congress to include a temporary increase to states' Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) in any stimulus package that may be passed this year.
September 18, 2008
How to jump-start the economy is a big topic these days. This week, Democrats returned to a familiar stimulus theme: increasing the share of federal Medicaid payments.
It is estimated that almost one out of every 11 nursing homes do not contain a sprinkler system, between 20% and 30% do not have automatic sprinklers, and retrofitting will cost facilities roughly $850 million.
May 15, 2008
Members of the American Health Care Association and the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care are planning to speak out against a proposed Medicare cut today during a House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing.
May 07, 2008
Hands-on caregivers have added to the chorus of criticism against a newly issued proposed federal rule that would cut Medicare funding to nursing homes by $5 billion over the next five years. The funding cut would "undermine the growing complex care needs" of an increasingly sicker nursing home population, warned the leader of a caregiver coalition.
May 01, 2008
One group was notably absent when the cheering erupted over the introduction of a bill that would ban arbitration agreements from nursing home admission contracts: providers.
The Elder Justice Act (HR 1783) received a heap of accolades from senior care advocates and industry representatives at a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday.
April 01, 2008
The for-profit long-term care community has been digesting a bitter tasting piece of proposed new legislation in recent weeks.
April 01, 2008
In boardrooms and across kitchen tables, much hand wringing is taking place. At issue is whether the nation may be on the cusp of a recession, or maybe worse.
Nursing homes nationwide would face, on average, an $18.45 per-patient-day cut in Medicare assistance under President Bush's fiscal year 2009 budget proposal, a new analysis from the American Health Care Association shows.
Chair sensors, computer programs to test memory and other technology geared to seniors was up for discussion in a symposium hosted Wednesday by the Senate Special Committee on Aging, the Medical Technology Caucus and the Center for Aging Services Technology (CAST).
