May 16, 2013
Marilyn Tavenner has become the first confirmed head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in seven years. Advocates in the long-term care sector welcomed the news.
May 15, 2013
Medicare rates for physician visits to nursing homes should be frozen for 10 years as the government replaces the Sustainable Growth Rate system, a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission official advised the Senate Finance Committee.
May 15, 2013
If you hang around long enough, you learn there are only two things long-term care providers fear after Republicans and Democrats. That would be hospitals and doctors.
May 10, 2013
Providers will see fewer Additional Document Requests starting in June, as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services transitions to new Recovery Audit Program contracts. CMS has started the contract procurement process by issuing a request for quotes through the General Services Administration, according to a Medicare newsletter released Thursday.
May 02, 2013
Total Medicare reimbursements to skilled nursing facilities would increase by $500 million in 2014 under the new payment rate proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The agency is also proposing a new Minimum Data Set item related to therapy.
Potential Medicare cuts called for by the Affordable Care Act will not occur, a chief government actuary has announced. Long-term care organizations said the news comes as a relief for providers who have weathered a series of recent payment reductions.
May 01, 2013
President Obama's proposed budget is dead in the water as long-term care providers see it. They stand to lose $81 billion over 10 years if the measure is approved.
April 05, 2013
As part of its pushback against the manual review process for therapy claims, the American Health Care Association has launched a clearinghouse to gather provider feedback. AHCA President Mark Parkinson described the RAC-led review process as "bifurcated, confusing and wholly inappropriate" in a four-page letter sent to Acting CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner last week.
The Senate Finance Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Marilyn Tavenner, currently the acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, on Tuesday, April 9.
Saying the current permanent visa programs for immigrants are "insufficient and inadequate" to meet long-term care staffing needs, the American Health Care Association outlined its vision of immigration reform Wednesday.
March 11, 2013
I was hoping to get clear answers about the sector's future at the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry's regional meeting last week in San Diego. I did, but I also must admit there were times when it was hard to give the various speakers the attention they deserved.
A newly enacted sequester may be trimming Medicare payments to skilled nursing operators, but the sector remains strong and poised for future growth. That assessment was delivered Wednesday by the head of the nation's largest nursing home association at a conference in San Diego hosted by the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry.
March 01, 2013
In a State of the Union address that largely touted objectives favored by Democrats, President Obama called on Republicans to be less partisan.
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living came out in support of bipartisan legislation to permanently repeal Medicare Part B therapy caps for skilled nursing facilities. The legislation was introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate on Feb. 15.
February 13, 2013
In a State of the Union address largely focused on jobs and the economy, President Obama challenged a divided Congress to avoid automatic funding cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, raise the minimum wage and relax immigration rules.
February 01, 2013
Providers generally lauded a deal that kept the nation from going over the so-called fiscal cliff in January. Spared were automatic Medicare cuts to physicians and facilities.
January 03, 2013
Long-term operators are cheering that Congress averted cutting Medicare payments through sequestration this week, and they're glad that another one-year postponement of physician pay cuts didn't come at their expense.
December 21, 2012
As lawmakers negotiated a budget deal Thursday, the American Health Care Association voiced its objection to cutting the Medicaid Provider Assessment statutory threshold.
The cumulative effect of cuts has been "devastating," AHCA President and CEO Mark Parkinson said.
November 21, 2012
Quality levels and customer satisfaction levels continue to improve in skilled nursing facilities, although increasing retention levels in certain positions remains a challenge, according to a new quality report from the American Health Care Association.
November 13, 2012
The American Health Care Association on Monday launched a weeklong ad blitz that brings the industry's concerns with possible Medicare funding cuts straight to the nation's lawmakers — and their staff members.
November 07, 2012
Within hours of President Barack Obama winning a second term, major long-term care association groups were asking him and Congress to reform Medicare and Medicaid policy.
October 29, 2012
I recently had the good fortune of interviewing three of the industry's top association executives. If their collective advice could be distilled to a bumper sticker-sized message, here's how it would read: Change is here, deal with it.
October 09, 2012
Long-term care providers were given the truth during the opening session of the 63rd annual convention of the American Health Care Association: More funding cuts are on the way. Among the other hot topics discussed during educational sessions Monday at the Tampa Convention Center were the use of antipsychotics and avoidable rehospitalizations.
September 11, 2012
Preserving Medicaid funding remains the top priority for the largest nursing home association in the United States as Congress heads back into session this week.
A long-term care group is urging regulators to continue work on fixing the "observation stay loophole" that makes it harder for Medicare beneficiaries to get nursing home care.
July 31, 2012
A top nursing home advocate touted the sector's job-generating successes and stressed the need to protect federal funding sources at a recent policy conference for Democratic governors.
July 19, 2012
A federal official defended government demonstration programs that coordinate care for dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in a Senate hearing Wednesday.
July 13, 2012
A new study shows that long-term care claim severity and loss rates have grown 4% each year since 2009, and the liability costs per bed is expected to be $1,540 by next year.
Medicaid spending increased 20% in fiscal 2012, representing the single largest portion of total state spending. This, combined with federally mandated Medicaid eligibility expansions, puts state budgets in a tight spot, a new national study reveals.
