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CMS

Where have you gone, concurrent therapy?

John O'Connor February 06, 2012

Five years ago, about a quarter of all nursing facility residents were receiving rehab care in concurrent therapy sessions. These days, almost none do. But it's not hard to see why this service option has essentially dried up.

Pharmacist underpayments results in adverse events, citations, investigation finds

January 30, 2012

Nursing homes that provide below-average consultant pharmacist salaries may be getting what they pay for, a state investigation suggests.

SNFs focused on individual therapy, new government report reveals

January 27, 2012

Skilled nursing facilities are almost exclusively putting residents in individual therapy, a new report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid says.

CMS clarifies provider termination criteria

January 24, 2012

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has clarified the terms under which states can terminate a provider's participation in state Medicaid programs.

CMS: Providers caught skipping resident interviews for new evaluations

January 20, 2012

Skilled nursing operators must complete resident interviews for MDS 3.0 evaluations, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services official reminded providers Thursday on a national conference call.

Federal regulators to address providers' concerns on SNF/Long Term Care conference call

January 13, 2012

The next monthly Skilled Nursing Facility/Long Term Care Open Door Forum will take place at 2 p.m. (Eastern) on Thursday. The monthly national conference call features officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services giving news updates and answering stakeholders' live questions from around the country. Registration for the audio only streaming web forum will open today, according to CMS. For the latest updates on SNF Open Door Forums, click on the headline above and then on the link here.

U.S. healthcare spending growth at historic low rate

January 10, 2012

Overall spending on healthcare in the United States grew at historically low rates in 2009 and 2010, according to a report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

SGR fix?! Don't get me started!

Jacqueline Vance January 09, 2012

So here's a Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) 101 primer so you will understand why I am so upset.

CMS provides answers to auditor questions

January 09, 2012

Medicaid Recovery Audit Contractors will not be replacing existing program integrity contractors, according to new guidelines from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Adverse events in older adults are underreported in hospitals, report says

January 09, 2012

Adverse events for Medicare beneficiaries are underreported in hospitals, where incident reporting systems only capture about 14% of errors, according to a government report released Friday.

GOP presidential candidate: Eliminate the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

January 06, 2012

Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum says he favors privatizing Medicare and says he would like to see the elimination of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Programs administered at least in part by CMS account for an overwhelming majority of payments made to skilled nursing providers

CMS announces Innovation Center advisors

January 04, 2012

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced its 73 new "innovation advisers" on Tuesday. They will work with the CMS Innovation Center to improve care delivery to Medicare beneficiaries.

Physician pay cut uncertainty could crash Medicare computer system, official warns

December 21, 2011

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has warned that its computer systems could crash due to a backlog of claims unless Congress acts to prevent a scheduled 27.4% physician pay cut.

CMS instructs contractors to hold physician payment claims as House votes down payroll tax cut bill

December 20, 2011

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has instructed claims contractors to withhold physician payment claims for the first 10 days of 2012, citing Congress' inability to address the "doc fix."

Report: Medicare should cover nutritional counseling for chronic conditions

December 20, 2011

Medicare should reimburse for medical nutrition therapy (MNT) — or consultations with a registered dietician — to prevent and treat chronic health conditions such as hypertension, obesity, cancer and renal disease.

Berwick decries Medicare and Medicaid fraud and waste in parting interview

December 06, 2011

On the heels of his departure from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Donald Berwick, M.D., said he came to Washington with an agenda to eliminate waste from the system.

LeadingAge: Tough times ahead for long-term care providers

November 30, 2011

LeadingAge President and CEO Larry Minnix openly acknowledged Wednesday afternoon that the next two years could be tense and difficult for long-term care providers. He was just one of a handful of experts painting a grave outlook.

Nursing home provider groups hail Tavenner's appointment

November 29, 2011

Nursing home groups have shown strong support for the appointment of Marilyn Tavenner to replace Donald Berwick, M.D. as administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

CMS expands Medicare fraud patrol program

November 28, 2011

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is offering $9 million in grants to expand a program that trains retirees to spot Medicare fraud.

CMS to discuss top regulatory topics with providers at skilled nursing Open Door Forum

November 23, 2011

The government's next long-term care "Open Door Forum" conference call will be exactly a week after Thanksgiving on Dec. 1. Providers and other interested stakeholders are invited to take part in this free, monthly conference call and Q & A session hosted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The hourlong event begins at 2 p.m. Eastern. Participants (who will be put on mute until the Q&A portion) are encouraged to call in about 15 minutes early at (800) 837-1935. Use conference I.D. number 93952052.

CMS responds to state Medicaid directors' calls for help

November 11, 2011

State Medicaid directors should refrain from making short-term cuts, and instead focus on long-term changes in partnership with the federal government, the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said this week.

Letter: State Medicaid directors want more help from feds

November 03, 2011

State Medicaid directors want more help from the federal government in implementing expanded Medicaid eligibility requirements, according to a letter sent to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid.

Senate hearing seeks improvement in assisted living oversight

November 02, 2011

Improving oversight of assisted living facilities will be the hot topic at a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging this afternoon. The "Ensuring quality and oversight in assisted living" hearing is a direct result of a media investigation that uncovered multiple violations at various assisted living facilities in Florida, allegedly resulting in deaths.

How to avoid end-of-therapy pitfalls

Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L October 28, 2011

You are not required to offer therapy services on weekends under new MDS 3.0 changes instituted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. But you do have to be careful if you don't.

McKnight's interviews CMS chief Donald Berwick on camera

October 26, 2011

Video footage of McKnight's Editorial Director John O'Connor interviewing Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick, M.D. can now be seen at www.mcknights.com.

Getting proactive on hospital readmissions

Ben Adkins October 21, 2011

Long-term care providers have plenty at stake when it comes to the issue of hospital readmissions, and working to reduce them. As debt ceiling talks and federal budget woes raise the specter of additional cuts to programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, it behooves LTC providers to seek creative solutions to curb healthcare spending and retain revenue.

LTC groups react to final ACO rule

October 21, 2011

Federal regulators have boosted incentives for becoming part of an accountable care organization, drawing a more positive response from long-term care providers.

Medicare and Medicaid chief tells long-term care providers: CMS is on their side

October 19, 2011

Improving the quality of care and targeting waste and fraud are priorities for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, chief Donald Berwick, M.D. told a large group of long-term care providers Tuesday.

CMS: Count on lower reimbursement levels, tougher scrutiny of provider billing practices

October 18, 2011

Providers at a special healthcare policy forum in Washington received a sobering evaluation Monday for why they were hit with an average 11.1% cut in Medicare reimbursement starting Oct. 1. A top long-term care official with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services systematically rejected common complaints and excuses regarding the $4 billion take-back by the federal government.