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Compliance

New law eliminates fines for nursing homes that fix problems

May 28, 2009

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver (D) this week enacted a law that eliminates fines against nursing homes that identify and correct health and safety issues on their own accord. The law sets out new rules and guidelines for a "quality assurance assessment" program.

New portable device tracks hand hygiene compliance among caregivers

March 19, 2009

Technology that tracks caregivers' hand hygiene practices is proving effective at reducing costs and increasing compliance, according to the results of a recent pilot study.

Nursing homes oppose proposal to display ratings

March 01, 2009

A proposal that would require facilities through-out the state to prominently show their new federal star ratings has received pushback from nursing homes.

Ask the payment expert: how to meet 'five-star' nursing home objectives

Patricia Boyer March 01, 2009

Patricia Boyer, MSM, NHA, RN President, Boyer & Associates, LLC

Ask the care expert: how to understand state deficiency scores

Sherrie Dornberger March 01, 2009

Sherrie Dornberger, RNC, CDONA, FACDONA President, NADONA

Initial results of five-star ratings: Nonprofit nursing homes deliver better care, analysis shows

December 19, 2008

Nonprofit nursing homes provide a higher quality of care than for-profit facilities, according to an analysis by USA Today of the first ratings of nursing homes by the government's five-star rating system.

Attorney General says more cameras will be hidden in nursing homes

October 23, 2008

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is expanding his practice of installing hidden cameras in nursing homes to include facilities in western New York, according to local news outlets.

Officials give nursing homes new help to avert fraud and abuse

October 01, 2008

Health officials on Tuesday issued new voluntary guidelines for nursing homes to help them avert fraud and abuse in Medicaid, Medicare and other federal healthcare programs. The 17-page long document was published in the Federal Register and complements guidance issued in 2000.

Regulators: Provider gift cards to nursing home residents won't draw fines

July 09, 2008

A healthcare system that proposes giving gift cards to residents and other customers it disappoints with poor service is on firm legal ground, federal regulators say.

Nursing homes lukewarm to government's new five-star rating system

June 19, 2008

Nursing home operators wasted little time Wednesday issuing rebuttals to the federal government's announcement that it would create and publish individual facility rankings on its Web site by the end of the year.

Nursing home operators lose 93% of appeals: report

June 04, 2008

The federal government won 66 of 71 appeals cases brought by nursing home providers last year according to a recent report from the Center for Medicare Advocacy. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services won all 18 cases decided on the merits at the Appellate Division; it won 48 of 53 cases at the Civil Remedies Division.

Hearing, GAO report delve into nursing homes' quality problems

May 19, 2008

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.

Harmful care rampant in nursing homes, official says

May 16, 2008

A total of 20% of nursing homes deliver care that is directly harmful to residents, a government official told federal lawmakers Thursday.

GAO: State surveyors miss nursing home deficiencies

May 16, 2008

State inspectors often fail to cite serious deficiencies, including malnutrition, bedsores and abuse, in their annual inspections of facilities, a Government Accountability Office report found.

AON study: Long-term care liability costs stabilize

May 13, 2008

Average national liability costs to the long-term care sector have stabilized for the first time in nine years, according to a report released Monday by the Aon Corp.

SEIU disputes "independence" of ManorCare quality committee

May 12, 2008

The Service Employees International Union has called into question the independence of HCR ManorCare's recently formed panel of quality advisers.

Carlyle-owned ManorCare forms committee on quality

May 06, 2008

HCR ManorCare disclosed this week the formation of the HCR ManorCare Independent Advisory Committee on Quality, a three-person panel convened to provide recommendations and advice to the ManorCare Board of Directors.

Ask the payment expert

Patricia Boyer May 01, 2008

I understand that many facilities are being cited during state surveys for not following standards of clinical practice. That citation is frequently cross-referenced to the assessment process. What can we do to meet this challenge?

Ask the care expert

May 01, 2008

I do the CNA training, and help with checking certifications. Are there standard requirements for CNAs?

CMS lists poor performing nursing homes on consumer Web site

April 25, 2008

Federal regulators' "Nursing Home Compare" Web site now lists facilities that rank in the lowest 10% in quality based on state inspection results, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services disclosed Thursday.

New role for nursing home compliance officers: documenting care

April 22, 2008

Because new Medicare reimbursement policies are focusing on quality of care at nursing homes, compliance officers will have a greater role in ensuring accurate documentation of care, one medical official said, according to a news report.

Comments sought on draft compliance guidance

April 17, 2008

The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General has recently released the new draft compliance guidance for nursing homes.

Sunrise averts NYSE de-listing

March 25, 2008

Sunrise Senior Living narrowly escaped being suspended from trading on the New York Stock Exchange by completing a re-filing of earnings results from 1996 through 2005 early Monday morning, the company said.

Bill would crack down on nursing home abuses

February 14, 2008

Nursing home operators with severe care deficiencies could face civil money fines up to $100,000 - 10 times the current maximum - under a new bill set to be introduced today in the U.S. Senate.

CMS to update 'worst' nursing home list quarterly, list all names

February 13, 2008

All nursing homes on a federal watch list for poor performing facilities will now be publicized on a government Web site, Bush administration officials announced Tuesday.

Binding arbitration to settle malpractice claims a growing practice, report says

February 13, 2008

The practice of healthcare providers seeking binding arbitration agreements before agreeing to treat patients is becoming more widespread, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

BULLETIN: CMS to name more underperforming facilities

February 12, 2008

Reversing an earlier position, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will release the names of additional nursing facilities the government has identified as poor performers.

CMS demands more from QIOs

February 06, 2008

If quality improvement organizations want future federal healthcare contracts, they're going to have to earn the right grades, officials announced Tuesday.

OIG open to discussions about long-term care quality

February 05, 2008

A recent roundtable discussion yielded a greater understanding of how the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General and long-term can work together to improve quality, a recently released report found.

OIG to change compliance guidance for nursing homes

January 30, 2008

The Department of Health and Human Services wants to know how its 8-year-old compliance guidance for nursing homes should be changed. The changes will affect providers taking part in federal health programs such as Medicaid and Medicare.